The Life and Times of Jack and Katherine
by sugartush
Summary: A bunch of oneshots featuring on the lives of Jack and Katherine and their get ups with the Newsies of New York. Some are smutty, some aren't. Reviews get faster updates.
1. Interrupted

**I had this occur to me last night. I have no clue why I turned it into fiction. Second chapter will be up soon. ~layla**

Life after the strike for Katherine and Jack had been wild. They were constantly in one another's company whether it be them hanging around the Lodge house with the other newsies, spending long nights at Katherine's apartment or just walking the other back and from work everyday.

That morning Jack and Katherine were sitting on the fire escape of the lodge house, drinking coffees and eating bagels they had bought early from the deli.

"Gi me a bigh of ya bagel." Jack said to her, already trying to wolf down his own food.

Katherine giggled but kept her own pumpkin bagel to herself. "You got your own. I'm hungry." She shuffled herself over so she sat between Jack's legs, motioning for him to put his arms around her. "What kind did you get anyway?"

"Blueberry. But it's too sweet." He replied after setting his coffee and food down on the step next to them, so he could link his arms around her middle.

"I swear we had this conversation about sharing bagels a week ago Jack."

"Yeah but I forget every time we order." Katherine laughed at him and rolled her head back to kiss his jaw. Only he would forget.

They finished their food and coffees just as the sun was rearing its blaring gold head. Jack and Katherine made sure to get up earlier in the mornings so they could get the privacy of the fire escape without the racket of the other newsies to interrupt them.

"You know it won't be until six thirty that the boys get up." Jack murmured into Katherine's ear just as she was about to get up.

She snorted. "Jack Kelly, are you suggesting that we get it on on a 12 story building fire escape?"

"Well we could do it inside on my bunk..." He murmured smugly. "But the walls inside are like paper and I don't know how Crutchie's gonna like being woken up on the top bunk by your loud ass moaning."

"I do not moan loudly!" She laughed and whacked him playfully on the leg.

"You do too. And I love it."

Jack began kissing her neck softly, traveling his way up to her jawline. He grabbed hold of her hips and spun her around so that he had better access to her mouth, which he proceeded to kiss. Katherine tried pulling herself away, giggling every time , but when she tried to voice her worries that someone would catch them, Jack shut her up with his lips again. After the third time she gave up and pressed her self into him forcefully.

After taking off her cardigan, Jack's rough hands found their way down her camisole, the magenta silk catching on his callouses. He reached the hem and pulled it off her gently, discarding it on the step above them. Her chest now only clad in her brassiere tingled with goosebumps. This side of the building was like a wind tunnel sometimes. But she became warmer as Jack moved his mouth to her sternum, his fingers prying at the piece of clothing getting between him and her breasts. Like the other garments, it was thrown on the step.

"Mm." Katherine slipped out as she felt him take one of her breasts. Jacks hand moved on to caress the other, producing even more whimpers from Katherine.

She had to admit, as reluctant she was to begin with, she was glad she went with it. Jack usually had that effect on her. But now Katherine had grown tired of his monotonous action and started to unbutton both Jack's vest and Shirt, donating to their growing pile of clothing. Jack helped to slip off her skirt, another generous donation. Soon she was only in her panties and sitting on his legs.

Their lips reunited and Katherine kicked off her heels before working on the zipper to his pants. She didn't take them off to save time, but took him in her hands and stroked his length. He sighed and closed his eyes, positioning himself while she pushed the lace of her panties aside to accommodate him.

"God Jack." Katherine marvelled, feeling him ease into her. It always amazed her how he knew how to make her feel so good.

He put his palms on her waist and lifted her, guiding her to take the lead.

Katherine did so, locking her fingers at the nape of neck and biting her lip as she lifted herself up and down into a steady rhythm.

"Jesus," Jack breathed "you're killing me Katherine."

Katherine said nothing but rested her forehead against his and placed a soft kiss on his mouth.

Katherine and Jack were to the point of groaning as they continued to move together, close to their peaks.

They would have finished there and then if the door to the building hadn't swung open, and Jack hadn't pulled his mouth from Katherine's so quickly that he almost knocked out her front tooth.

"Jack, Kathy! David's taking us on a bagel run. He wants to know if you-"

Les Jacobs stood there looking more terrified than if a hundred spiders had crawled into his pants. He hadn't looked at the two until then and the sight of a very naked Katherine straddling an equally very naked Jack stopped him in his words.

"Les!" Katherine squeaked, attempting to cover her chest. Thank god that they hadn't gotten rid of their pants and underwear, otherwise the whole situation would have been a lot worse.

The boy didn't need to be told, he bolted back inside, his palms in the air like he was surrendering.

"Oh my god." Katherine hissed "We just plagued the baby's head!"

"Shit." Jack agreed.

"Should we go talk to him?"

"What, like this babe? I don't think that's gonna help the ordeal anymore."

Katherine smacked him on the back off his head. "This is serious Jack! The poor thing probably won't be able to look at us straight again."

"Sorry. Let's get dressed and then hunt him down."

After quickly chucking each others garments at one another, they redressed, attempted to smooth down their atrocious sex hair and went back inside to find Les.

If there was ever a time that Jack wished he could have controlled his raging teenage hormones it would have been on that fire escape. Now Les had ran off and Katherine was worried sick about how He would never talk to her again. He had driven himself into trouble yet once again due to his stupid libido.

"Would he still be at the lodge house?" Katherine asked, her eyebrows knitted together with worry.

Jack nodded his head. "He's selling papes today and it's too early to start. Maybe he's with Davey in me and Crutchie's room."

Unlike the other boys, Crutchie and Jack took up residence in the small attic room of the lodge. It used to be a filing room for a company that previously owned the building, but Jack cleared up the cabinets and moved their bunk in so Crutchie had a little more space for his leg when it acted up.

Jack and Katherine knocked on the door, which wasn't even necessary as Crutchie kept it a little ajar at all times.

"Yeah?" The blonde boy called from the bottom bunk, tying his shoe.

Davey was also in the room, sitting next to Crutchie's good leg on the floor and resting his crutch on his knees.

"Oh hey, Davey," Jack started "just the guy we wanted to see. Where's your little brother?"

"I dunno, he went to his bunk I think after we got breakfast. He was acting real quiet though."

"Ah, shit."

Katherine stepped in to rescue the boys confused faces. "We had a little mishap this morning. We just wanted to check if he's ok."

Crutchie's scrunched his face. "Mishap?"

"We, uh." Jack tried, but couldn't get the words out. His eyes darted to Katherine for help. She look just as hopeless and nudged him in the rib to spit it out. "Well ya see, Ace and I thought we were alone on the fire escape this morning and uh, well you know what I'm leading to. But your little brother Davey, he ah, kinda walked in on us while we were at it."

"Jesus." Crutchie chuckled. "That was wild from start to finish."

Davey beside him wasn't as amused as he rubbed his temple. "He's innocent Jack. You probably scared him out of girls for the rest of his life."

"It ain't like we meant to!" He protested. "How was I supposed to know Les would come through the door and see Katherine all topless on me, huh?"

"Jack!" Katherine slapped him again in embarrassment that he was getting down to the gritty details in front of David and Crutchie.

"Sorry Ace." He apologised. "Look we just gotta find find Les and see if he's not too shaken up. Do you know where he is?"

Crutchie had to regain his composure for he had fallen into the mattress in stitches after Jack's brief description of Katherine on top of him. "I think he was with Race and Specs, playing go fish or something in their bunk."

Katherine and Jack were about to turn to go when Crutchie grabbed Katherine's wrist. "Just tell me though, was Jack worth getting caught for?"

Katherine rolled her eyes and shook her head in shame looking at Crutchie's Cheshire grin. "Maybe when we find out whether or not Les needs therapy I'll let you know Crutch."

Jack and Katherine finally left and were climbing down the staircase when they almost crashed into Romeo. He scratched the back of his head and raised the corner of his mouth into a smile. "Jack! Kathy!" He exclaimed.

Jack ruffled his scruffy black hair and smiled back. "Mornin' kid. You been up long?"

Romeo snorted. "No but you two have."

Jack was confused. "I don't get it."

Katherine raised her eyebrow as the boy in front of them sniggered to himself like he was relishing the punchline of a joke. However, Katherine and Jack didn't know that the joke was them. "Rumour is, is that Les caught you two in the act." He said.

Jack planted his face into his palms and groaned, Katherine sighing heavily.

Romeo laughed. "Oh it's true? I thought the kid was making that shit up!"

"How many know, Romeo?" Katherine asked wearily.

"Oh like eighty or so."

Jack suddenly raised his voice. "Romeo there's only about fifty of us in the lodge house!"

"I wasn't just talking about the lodge house!" He chuckled. "Mush said he heard Spot Conlan and his boys on the bridge laughing about it an hour or so ago."

This was the last straw for Jack. He respected Spot, but he wasn't so sure that Spot was going to respect him anymore after this. "Spot? Aw Ace babe, why didn't you stop us?"

"Jack I think you're forgetting my various warnings telling you that we were going to get caught!" Katherine retorted.

"Sorry, I just got to caught up with it all."

Romeo looked at the two arguing and held back laughter. "I'm gonna leave you two love birds to it." He continued to walk up the stairs and Jack and Katherine were left to confront Les in the lower dorm.

The lower dorm could be described simply as crowded. Cheaply painted bunk beds were aligned wherever their was a free space and when they weren't selling papers, the newsies spent their time causing ruckus amongst each other.

They spotted Les sitting cross legged on Race's bunk whispering the values of Specs' hand who sat across on the hard mattress. They seemed to be playing Poker with one another.

Specs looked up from his glasses, as he saw Jack and Katherine stride over and smirked. "Need some help Jackie boy?" He said.

Race grinned too, obviously aware as well of the Fire Escape showdown. He threw down his hand of cards and rested his chin on his fist. "I think he and his lady wanna talk to Les, Specs."

Specs laughed and pushed the younger boy on his feet. "Go on kid, I'll play your turn for ya."

Katherine took Les' hand and they walked with Jack to the balcony just outside. It was cut off to the dorm with a set of frail steel bars and a thick layer of scratched glass. They were gonna appreciate that barrier the moment they stepped out there.

"I'm sorry I interrupted you guys." Les said quietly.

Katherine's jaw dropped and she took Les' hands in her own, getting on her knees to be on his level. "Les! It wasn't your fault sweetheart."

"Yeah, you didn't know buddy." Added Jack, who had sat himself next to them on the concrete. "It was me and Katherine's fault."

Les was quiet. He didn't really know what to say, so he listened to Jack and Katherine apologise profusely.

"We were stupid and were ignorant and naive and-" Katherine rambled, but Jack stopped her mid sentence.

"Ace, I think the kid gets it." He laughed. Les raised a small smile and stared at the two in front of him, their eyes glinting in hope that he'd say something. So he laughed. Les laughed harder than he ever had before. Even more than the time when Davey had tried to make dinner for their family but ended up in the ER when he got his arm stuck in the oven door. Even more than the time the Newsies boys helped Jack get dressed for a dinner date with Katherine and ended up in a suit and enough cologne to make his sinuses act up. And even more than the time when Medda Larkin had used her stage makeup to convince customers that Les had Jaundice so they'd feel bad and come see her show. In Les' head, this was just another memorable moment that brought him in stitches. He honestly wasn't scarred by the whole ordeal.

"What's so funny kid?" Jack marvelled.

Les regained his composure and shot a half smile at him and Katherine. "You guys are acting like this is a huge deal that'll ruin me forever. I'm ten. Kids my age get over things quickly."

Katherine sighed uneasily. "Well, ok. But if you ever wanna talk or ask-"

"I'm good Katherine!" Les almost squawked, his hands up like he wanted to shove them over her lips. Jack and Katherine watched as he filed back into the dorms, relief flooding over them. The kid was going to survive.

They remained on the concrete after Les left, Katherine lacing her hands with Jack's. "Hallelujah, huh?" She giggled.

He rubbed his forehead and let out a single laugh. "We're lucky we ain't have to assign him to Bedlam, Ace."

Katherine rested her head on his shoulder and smiled when kissed her hair. "You're very maternal y'know." He mumbled.

"You think?"

"Just the way you handle things. I ain't ever seen you shy away when the boys and I need help." A small smile danced on his mouth. "You'd be good with kids."

"I've always wanted them. I guess I just pushed the thought aside. My mother always wanted me to be a domestic wife when I married and got angry when I told her I wanted to be a reporter. I didn't really want to give her any satisfaction by letting her know I did really want children."

"I think it's safe to say you won't be slaving over your husband Katherine. Sure, having a family and keeping your career, but Miss Domestic? I don't buy it."

Katherine grinned. "Tell that to Marie Pulitzer, my own mommy dearest."

"I'll pass on that one."

"No seriously, she wants us over for dinner on Sunday. Says she wants to meet the famous Jack Kelly, the Strike leader who swept her daughter off her feet."

Jack just shook his head. "Sorry Ace, Jack Kelly doesn't meet parents. It's gonna be a no go I'm afraid. But hey, maybe Crutchie will go with you."

"I'm not taking Crutchie to meet my parents Jack!" She laughed. "And you'd do it for me. Please?"

Jack wanted to say no. But It was those big chocolatey doe eyes he couldn't resist. He frowned at her, "Fine, for you only. I still don't see why I have to. I work for your father, I know him."

"Yeah, but mama and papa Pulitzer come as a package. You don't get one spitting demon without the other."

Jack chuckled loudly and pulled Katherine into an embrace over his chest. Perhaps meeting her parents wouldn't be so awful with the thought that Katherine would be their to humour him when he needed it. But then again, this was meet the parents with none other than the Pulitzers. Jack had no idea what he was in for.


	2. Meet the Parents

**So this is gonna be a regular thing, huh? Yeah well Imma be updating this with new oneshots as often as I can. They are gonna be written in chronological order, but I guess they don't have to be read that way. Anyway I don't own Newsies, I love you guys a lot, so please review. Reviews mean faster updating, so...**

**much love, Layla**

Katherine scowled at Jack for what had to be the eighteenth time that evening. Getting Jack into decent clothes was harder than she initially thought.

"Jack!" She gritted through her teeth, attempting to loop his tie around his neck. "Cooperate with me!"

He craned his neck away and made a face. "Ace, quit it!"

"I'll quit it when you look presentable Jack Kelly!"

Jack wasn't surprised that Katherine was acting like this. It was Sunday evening, and the Pulitzers had requested for Katherine to bring Jack home for dinner. And of course Katherine wasn't going to take him home to meet her folks in his regular Newsboy attire.

"It's not even that tight," she murmured, pulling the knot in at his neck. "And it's only for a few hours."

Jack looked for sympathy in Katherine's eyes, but she only giggled and kissed him in return.

"Hey, where you going?" He asked as she turned to stride into the bathroom.

"To shower. I need to get ready too." Jack opened his mouth, looking hopeful, but Katherine raised her hand and continued, "And no, Jack, you can't shower with me."

Katherine came out of the bathroom later, hair brushed and pinned neatly, makeup done, adorned in nothing but a towel. Jack, fully clothed, was more than upset.

"Katherine!" Jack protested as he watched her walk to her set of drawers to pull out a dress. "You're doing that on purpose."

She shrugged her shoulders and smiled smugly when she dropped her towel to the floor. She felt Jack's looming gaze on her when she slipped on her undergarments. Stepping into her dress, Katherine glanced backwards at Jack and motioned for him to come do up the back for her.

He exhaled heavily behind her and pulled up the zipper. "You're a damn tease, Ace, you know that?"

She giggled softly and spun herself round to kiss him in response. At that moment, as happy as they were, they didn't think about how long the night ahead of them would be. And boy, would it be long.

The Pulitzers resided in a large Neo classical mansion in the Upper East Side. It was refined yet still intimidating as Jack looked up at it on the front steps. Katherine rolled her eyes and rapped the brass door knocker. She'd grown up in this house, it had provided shelter for her since she left home into the apartment her father bought her. But it still felt as cold and unwelcome as when she was a little girl.

Katherine took Jack's hand in her own and squeezed a small pulse. "Relax."

He snorted, for he had caught her in her reverie. "Right back at ya Plumber."

She wanted to tell him otherwise but footsteps shuffled behind the door and it was open by none other than her mother.

Marie Pulitzer could be described as beautiful. Although in her age, she still retained her pale golden hair and smooth skin Katherine remembered when she was small. And as Jack looked at the woman he immediately recognised Katherine. Their features were almost identical, from the warm chocolate eyes right down to the ski jumps in their noses.

"Katherine," Marie smiled, her tone cool. "It's been a while since we've had you back home."

"I've been busy mama." Katherine hugged her mother briefly and then shyly tucked a stray tendril of hair behind her ear. "Mama, this is Jack Kelly. I know you've been wanting to meet him."

Jack offered a small smile and extended his hand. "Pleasure to meet ya, Mrs. Pulitzer."

Katherine peered over her mother's shoulder as she shook hands with Jack and saw that her younger sisters had also come to the main hall. They were probably curious to get a look at Jack, and find out what made their sister think he was so special.

Marie noticed them too. "Maggie, Georgia, Connie. Come greet your sister and her friend."

The three girls looked more than thrilled to see Katherine.

"Kathy!" Exclaimed Connie, the youngest of the Pulitzer girls. Jack noticed she definitely took more after Joseph Pulitzer but her hair was still blonde like Marie. She couldn't have been more than six.

"Connie, slow down." Katherine chuckled, picking her up in her arms.

"It's been a while Kathy," spoke Georgia, who glanced smugly at Maggie next to her. "We didn't think you were coming home. Maybe you became too busy with a certain newsb-" Katherine shot her a glare and Georgia got the message to hold her tongue.

Unlike Maggie and Connie, Georgia and Katherine shared the same chocolatey hair inherited from their fathers side. To Jack though, they could all pass as the same person, blonde or brunette.

Maggie, the middle of three younger girls, sighed and shot her elder sister a smile. "We missed you Kathy."

Marie shook her head at her daughters and beckoned them all inside. "Come in, it's cold. And I think you're all overwhelming Mr. Kelly."

It was true, Jack had never been with so many women in his life.

They were lead into the living room of the house, where the large sandstone fire place crackled with flames. Sitting on the large Chesterfield in the middle of the room was none other than Joseph Pulitzer and a young man Jack suspected to be Katherine's elder brother.

"Joseph darling, your daughter's home." Marie announced, "and she's brought her friend too."

Joseph turned from conversing with his son to Katherine and Jack.

"Daddy." Katherine smiled and hugged her father. Although the strike had complicated things between the two, they were still family, and they both were happy to let it go for the sake of it.

Joseph cleared his throat and extended his hand. "Jack."

He shook it firmly. "Mr. Pulitzer." Jack didn't know what else to say, he never thought he'd be stuck with his Boss, trying to convince him he

was a suitable partner for his daughter. Then again he had never planned on dating his boss's daughter either.

Katherine broke the silence with an audible inhale, smiling sweetly. "Jack, this is my brother Michael. He works with me as an editor at the Sun."

They both acknowledged one another, then sat down with the rest of the Pulitzers.

"So how did you two meet?" Georgia asked them, her chin resting on her fists.

Katherine laughed. "He tried to sell me a paper, but I turned him down. Then we met again when I interviewed the newsboys for my article."

Marie raised an eyebrow, sharing a glance with her husband. It was clear that she was just as curious about Jack as her younger daughters. "Do you find it easy selling papers, Jack?"

"It comes easy after a few years or so," Jack answered. "But, yeah, it's tough trying to make a few coins out there." It was like the room had become weighted. Joseph darted his eyes to the floor, becoming disinterested in the conversation. If it weren't for him, Jack and the other newsies would have been fine selling papers, not struggling to pay their next meal.

"Do you have lots of friends where you live?" Connie asked, her big eyes beaming.

He chuckled at the young girl. "Yeah, hundreds. You know there's heaps of kids about your age there, Connie?"

Connie gasped, and climbed onto Katherine's lap. "Kathy, I want to sell newspapers!"

Shock filled into both of Katherine's parents eyes. Jack Kelly had already taken one of their daughters, he wasn't about to take another. Marie took a shaky laugh. "Constance, how about we just focus on school at the moment?"

Connie pouted and climbed down to the carpet to play with her doll house.

Marie excused herself to go check on dinner, leaving the rest of her family to quiz Jack even more than they already had.

Maggie was in the middle of asking Katherine how apartment life was when Meg, the Pulitzer's house maid, trotted in with Marie.

"Dinner's ready Mr. Pulitzer," she announced. "Moira and me just set the dining room table if you, Michael and the girls wanted to take a seat."

"Meg, didn't I remind you we were catering for an extra?" Marie motioned towards Jack.

"Oh, yes Miss. Don't worry, Moira and me remembered." With that she filed back into the kitchen, and Marie led her Jack family into the dining room.

"Hey Jack!" Connie hissed from her seat, which was far too big for her. "Wanna sit next to me?"

"Sure thing kiddo." He sat between her and Katherine, opposing her siblings on the other side of the cherry stained table. Joseph and Marie sat at the ends, which intensified their threatening personas even more.

While they are their food, no one really said anything, and Jack wondered if it was like this all the time; nothing but the looming sound of silverware against porcelain. However Maggie broke the silence, raving on about her newest suitor.

"Mama, did I tell you?" Maggie grinned. "Peter Weller asked me to Brunch on Tuesday."

"You know I don't like his mother, Maggie."

"But mama, his mother gave him three grand to spend on automobiles. Do you know what he could buy me if he sold those automobiles? Diamonds."

"There's more to life than diamonds, Maggie." Michael chuckled at her, offering Jack a bread roll from the basket. Jack mouthed a thank you and tore it in half to share with Katherine.

"But I mean, Michael, what if you proposed to that girl your courting? What's her name?" Maggie continued.

"Sophie."

" Yes, Sophie. What if you proposed to Sophie with a diamond ring and she said yes. You'd get married, buy a big house, have lots of babies and grow old together. Without that diamond ring you'd never do any of that, so no there isn't really much more to life than diamonds."

"That's not so true," Jack said. He had caught the attention of the whole table, even Connie stared at him, for she knew never to argue with Maggie's materialism. "Ya see, my Ma, she was Irish. She came to New York when she was young and met my pa. My pa was barely making ten cents an hour working on construction sites, when he asked her to be his wife. He ain't give her no ring. It was only until they moved into an apartment a year later, married at a shabby ministry, and just had me did she get her ring. My pa worked till he could afford something decent, and still without some ring he made my Ma happy."

Katherine smiled, her eyes glinting. "That's sweet."

Joseph dabbed his mouth a napkin, obviously not moved by Jack's story. "And where are your parents now?"

"Father!" Katherine scowled.

"Oh, uh, my Ma passed from typhoid when I was eight, and my pa took off after that."

"And what makes you think you wouldn't take off one day if you were married to my daughter?"

Katherine was fuming, the conversation once calm had taken a different turn, all thanks to her father.

Jack set his cutlery down roughly. "'Cause I love ya daughter, Mr. Pulitzer. I couldn't survive a day knowing that I wouldn't be able see her."

"Do you know how many young men have claimed to love my daughter, Jack?" He almost shouted. "And all of them offering nothing but hopes of getting a steal of my money!"

"Joseph, please!" Marie slammed her fist down, stopping him from going on. As much as she wasn't fond of Jack, she wouldn't let her husband start an argument with him in her dining room.

Katherine clenched her jaw, trying not to cry. She knew that this dinner wasn't going to go down well. "Mother, I think Jack and I are going to go home now." She said.

" Katherine, please." Her mother protested, while Katherine stood and took Jack's arm.

"Mother, please just drop it." Katherine grabbed their coats and headed out to the front door.

In the cab home though, she couldn't forget the picture of her father sitting at the table like nothing happened. It was like he didn't have the stamina to care any more.

Jack walked her to her apartment door later, bending down to kiss her hair.

"Please stay Jack." She whispered.

"Katherine, I gotta work tomorrow-"

"Please?"

He sighed, then smiled. "Okay."

She lead him into her kitchen, where she proceeded to brew him a mug of coffee. Although she didn't care much for it, she kept a bag of grinds in her pantry for when ever Jack visited, for he seemed to like the bitterness in it.

"I'm sorry about tonight," she murmured, handing him the mug. She sat down next to him at the small kitchen table, her head in her hands. "I thought they were going to behave."

"Ace, you didn't do anything. Your dad and I have a grudge. It was bound to happen somewhere along the lines." He took her hand from her face and kissed her knuckles. Katherine didn't react, but only tucked her head in the crook of his neck and linked her arms around him for comfort. Jack shifted her over so she was on his lap and kissed her head as she cried into his shirt.

"Hey, kid." He said softly. "Let's go to bed. The boys'll manage tonight without me."

"I only wanted you to stay for a little bit."she sniffled through the fabric of his shirt. "Plus you said you had to work."

"I'll get Crutch and Davey to do my rounds." Katherine nodded slightly, and Jack hoisted her up like a child, carrying her to the bedroom.

She curled on her side on her bed, after changing into a silk chemise. Jack was closing her curtains when he heard a soft almost inaudible giggle come from her lips.

"What?" He raised a brow, while undoing his tie and slipping off his shirt. He pulled on a pair pants he had left from a previous visit and joined Katherine under the covers.

"Nothing," she smiled. "I was just remembering the last time I took a boy home to meet my parents."

Jack suddenly became curious. "Who?"

"Just Darcy. And they really only wanted him to come over to see if he could work for my father at the World. And Connie had found this poodle puppy on the street that afternoon, which was filthy and tracked mud through the whole house." She had to pause to laugh. "And, this dog, Snowball, well we had to hide her from my father because he was furious and said that he'd sell it to the sausage factory of he ever saw it again. So Darcy hid it in his jacket and throughout dinner we kept hearing these yaps from Darcy as he kept feeding it. Needless to say that dog is still alive and breathing at Darcy's apartment."

Jack chuckled. "Y'see Ace, that got ya smiling."

She rolled over to kiss him softly. "Thank you. I needed to laugh."

"The pleasure is mine, Ace."

Just as Katherine reached over to switch off her lamp, Jack clasped her arm. "Wait, Katherine."

"Hm?"

"I, ah, wanted to talk about tonight."

Katherine raised an eyebrow. "What about tonight?"

"Well, when your dad was going off about me taking off on you if we were married, it got me thinking."

He sat up and leaned over to his pants on the floor, where he grabbed a paper parcel, tied neatly with gold string. "Katherine Elizabeth Pulitzer," he began, his eyes locked on her own. "I love you so much, and I know you know that. I know you know that I would never take off or hurt you. I wanna wake up to your face everyday just like those mornings where I've stayed too late and we gotta explain to the boys why I was late to work.

I ain't never gonna take off like my pa did to my ma. Kath," he paused breaking into a grin. "Please stop me from babbling and tell me you'll marry me."

Katherine tore open the parcel and pulled out a small golden ring encrusted with three aligned diamonds. Where he got the money for this, Katherine had no idea. But then it dawned on her; it was his mother's.

"Katherine?" Jack was getting worried with her lack of words. Did she not want this, had he been too soon? But Katherine was only silent for she was trying to hold back the tears.

"Yes!" She nodded, wiping her cheeks. "Yes of course I will!"

Jack beamed with her, and cupped her face in his palms. "Why are ya cryin' then, Ace?"

"Because this is the worst proposal, you idiot! We just got home from fighting with my parents and we're in my God damn bed! Trust you Jack Kelly to spring this on me!"

"But you'll still marry me right?"

She crushed her lips down on his, still smiling. "Yes!" She said between kisses. "You're an idiot but yes!"

He laughed with her and pushed the ring on her left finger, before pulling her down on the mattress, to, in his words, celebrate.


	3. Field Trip

**Hello honeys, I really don't have anything to say so read ahead and please review. Like seriously please. Review. **

**much love, layla**

Katherine should have been at home, finishing the article that was due in a week. But she was walking across Brooklyn Bridge, arm in arm with Jack Kelly.

He had burst into her apartment that morning, beaming while he watched her do up the last buttons of her blouse.

"Ace, we gotta go to Brooklyn today." He exclaimed kissing her good morning.

She frowned, still smiling at his excitement. He was like a puppy. "No, I have an article on human trafficking. I'm staying home today."

"But the boys and I were gonna go to the docks, cool off with Spot Conlon and his flock."

The idea did seem tempting to Katherine. It was summer in New York, therefore sticky and hot and practically unbearable in her heavy skirts. But she had to finish to her article. "Jack, I wish I could-"

"I'll help you finish it tonight," he offered. "We'll get dinner from that Italian place on 61st and make it a date."

"That does sound nice." She smiled. She shook her head in disbelief, marvelling at the ways Jack had changed her from when they had first met. "Ok, just give me a minute to get changed."

Katherine hadn't ever been to Brooklyn, throughout her childhood her parents had warned her it was dangerous, not a place for a young lady to be loitering around in. But now she was older, and she was in the company of Jack, she was more than happy to see the place.

They stepped onto the docks, where the Manhattan Newsies had already arrived before them. They mixed in with the scene of the Brooklyn boys, some already in the water, some sitting and talking with bottles of ale in their hands.

"Hey Spot!" Jack called up to a look out deck. A boy not much younger than Jack, tanned with sterling eyes looked over the side. Katherine immediately recognised him as Spot Conlon, king of the Brooklyn Newsies.

"Well if it ain't Jack Kelly in the flesh." He smiled climbing down to ruffle Jack's already unruly hair before tackling him in a hug. He then acknowledged Katherine beside Jack, taking her hand to kiss her knuckles. "Miss Katherine Pulitzer."

"Hello Spot." She smiled. She was about to take her hand back, but Spot clasped it firmly, his eyes fixating on her sparkling engagement ring. "You's are gettin' hitched." He said softly.

"Surprise." Jack chuckled.

Spot let her hand go, a smile stretched across his face. "Congrats to you both. And I'll keep my mouth shut don't you worry."

Relief warmed through out Jack and Katherine. They were going to tell everyone sooner or later, but preferably in their own means of time.

Spot lead them over to where he and various other boys had set up their things on the edge of the docks. They recognised Specs, Race and Davey along with a few of the other Brooklyn boys gathered round in what seemed to be a poker game. However lying in the sun was a girl, her eyes covered by large cat eye sunglasses and dressed only in a white singlet and houndstooth patterned shorts lying on her back. She must have been asleep for she didn't say hello when the others did as Jack and Katherine sat down.

Spot laughed at the girl, then leant over to tug on her blonde ponytail and kiss her forehead. "We's got company Ang, you can't sun bake forever."

She frowned and took off her sunglasses, squinting from the sun as she shuffled up. "Ok, who's stayed and who's left since I fell asleep?"

She did a quick headcount. "Race, Specs, Tasty, Dave, Sasquatch... And Jack, you weren't here before." Her eyes caught Katherine and she smiled slightly. "Jack, don't tell me Manhattan has a girl newsie too now."

"Nah Angie, this is Katherine. She wrote our story back in the strike. She ain't no newsie."

"Good. I ain't fond of competition." Angie paused before looking at Jack. "And she'd be some competition."

Katherine managed to raise her lips in a half smile. She found Angie intimidating sure, but like every other Newsie, she knew that she meant well.

They sat in the sun for almost an hour, dangling their legs in the water, lying on one another as pillows and generally talked. Katherine got to know Sasquatch and Tasty, the other boys in the group. Sasquatch was stocky built with hands almost three times the size of her own, however he was sweet in every word he said, not wanting to ever offend. Tasty on the other hand was scrawny, he said only a few sentences between eating from other's food scraps, and seemed to enjoy taking in the conversation and not participating. Katherine liked them both.

She was lying down with her head in Jack's lap and her legs on Davey's own outstretched ones, listening to Angie tell some outrageous story about her and Spot. She almost laughed thinking of what she looked like. Only in an underskirt and a camisole, lying on two boys on the docks of Brooklyn.

"And then Spot broke the poor guy's cheek with his stupid cane, and totally cock blocked me!" Angie laughed, finishing her story.

"And for good reason," Spot muttered. "You's are my girl. Not some prick from Harlem's."

"Oh stop it Spot. I ain't anybody's property. And if I's was anybody's property it'd be Brooklyn's."

Katherine smiled as Angie rolled her eyes when he kissed her ear in hope of redemption. It was like seeing a much wilder version of herself and Jack, what it could be if she wasn't raised the way she was. But it didn't matter, he was going to marry her after all. Just saying that in her head made her want to squeal aloud. In a few months or so, she'd be Mrs. Katherine Kelly, free of Pulitzer for the rest of her life. She knew he'd end up moving into her apartment for good, then who knows, they might even have children. She sighed happily, until She felt Jack squeeze middle suddenly, waking her from her reverie.

"Ace!" He laughed. "I'm talking to ya!"

"Hm? Sorry." She said.

He shook his head. "We're gonna get in the water. Did ya wanna come?"

"The water? Oh, no Jack, you go. I don't think I'd be able to explain to my neighbours why I came home soaking wet. These are my only clothes you know."

"Your loss." He pulled her off him and Davey and then stood with the other boys, kissing her nose before he walked to the other side of the dock. She laughed as she caught a glimpse of him on the other side, pull his shirt off completely unaware of Spot, who was coming up behind to tackle him into the water. Spot head locked him and they both fell in with a splash.

"Idiots." Angie muttered, smirking.

"That's for sure." Replied Katherine. "You'd think they'd learn that after three bottles of ale, their capability to stay a float would not be as strong as they think."

Angie let out a laugh, sliding back down into her resting position from previously. "So how'd you wind up with Jack Kelly anyhow?"

Katherine shrugged. "I hated him when I first met him, he was so cocky and obnoxious, and then I got to know him better. He cared so much about his boys in Manhattan, trying to make their jobs better for them with the strike. I guess he kinda grew on me."

"And don't tell me you didn't go for the face as well."

"That too." She sighed, raising her brows. "How'd you end up with Spot? I mean, you are together, right?"

"Yeah, ya could call it that. We's was newsies together as kids, in the same neighbourhood. We both had reputations I guess. I was the only female that we's was aware of in New York selling papes, and he had everyone believe he ruled them." She paused to fiddle with her sunglasses in her lap. "He's good to me though. As much as I tell him I ain't his property, I still like to think that we make a good pair."

Katherine smiled. "I like it too. When you both are so different, but you can link because you care about each other so much. I mean, I come from a family that practically owns the city and there he is, spending his last few cents trying to buy me flowers after his rounds."

Angie grinned, and then looked down at Katherine's hand. "So you're gonna marry him?" She saw Katherine's face light in shock, so she rolled her green eyes and took Katherine's hand. "I saw the the rock on ya finger."

"Is it really that obvious? Maybe I should just put it in my pocket-"

"Katherine! Don't take it off. It's beautiful and ya should be happy showing it to people."

Katherine sighed, and began to twist the gold band on her finger. "I wish it were that easy. My parents don't know, and they hate Jack." She laughed sheerly. "God! I don't even know what I'll say to them."

"Just tell em. They's can't stop you."

Katherine frowned and looked down at the water. Angie obviously hadn't ever heard the word of blessings. How she was going to get one out of her father, Katherine had no clue.

A faint ripple surfaced on the dark water in front of them, Jack rising from it. His dark hair was jet black in the wet, which he pushed back off his forehead sloppily. "Hiya." He said, his smile disappearing as he lowered his head down, so Katherine could only see his green eyes. They reflected the deep tinge of blue in water, making them look as if he'd just stuck his fingers in electrical sockets.

"Hello." She leaned on her knees to kiss his lips lightly. If Angie weren't behind her, she would have been more voluntary to show affection to her boy in the water. But she held her ground. Remembering her manners, Katherine gently pulled back.

"I was going to go order sandwiches for you and the boys," she smiled while raking a hand through his slick hair. "Did you guys have any preferences?"

"Katherine that'll be a lot of money." He frowned.

"I can afford it Jack. Now go ask your boys what they want."

He sighed, rolled his eyes and turned back to where at least twenty or thirty of the Manhattan boys looked like they were all trying to drown each other. "Hey!" He yelled. "Ace is getting you boys sandwiches, which do you want?"

The seizing seemed to stop and they all quickly called a string of pastramis and Swiss turkeys.

"I'll be back in a minute," Katherine called out to them. "Try not to drown each other before you get your lunch."

"No promises Plums!" She heard Race respond, proceeding to head lock Spec's who was struggling to get out of his grip. Katherine just shook her head and laughed.

Katherine walked with Crutchie to the deli nearby the water. She'd asked Angie to come, but she had wanted to continue sleeping. Crutchie of course couldn't swim with his leg, so he limped on his good leg, with the aid of his crutch, down the boardwalk with Katherine.

"You have lots of work at your apartment, huh Kathy?" Crutchie frowned beside her.

Katherine shook her head. "Jack and I are going to do a big cram session tonight. He said we could make a date of it, so I'm ok with it."

"You getting fettuccini carbonara from Maroni's?" He smiled.

"How did you know? It's my favourite."

Crutchie looked to the floor, cheeks red. "I shouldn't tell you but, you're kinda all Jack talks about when we're at the lodging house. If it ain't ya pretty face, intelligence or independency, he yaks on about ya favourite things and how he's gonna buy them for ya when he gets the money."

Katherine's heart melted on the inside, but she kept it in, exchanging it for a laugh instead. "I'm sorry you guys have to hear about me so much."

"Nah, it's a lot better than Romeo trying to tell us about his dream girl. Believe me Kathy we'd much rather hear about you."

They walked to the deli in silence after that, until Crutchie spoke up.

"He proposed didn't he?" He asked, a glint in his eyes.

Katherine pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear, smiling slightly. "How'd you know Crutch?"

"Jack told me he was going to do it, I didn't think he actually would." He let out a breathy laugh. "Ya shoulda seen him try to practice on me though. He's such a sap."

"It's one of his best assets."

"Yeah that and seducing reporters who's parents would kill him if they heard word that he's was gonna marry their daughter."

"I'll tell them, don't worry." She reassured him. "It might just be after the honeymoon."

They returned back to the docks later, arms full with paper bags.

Katherine waved her arms above her head, and Crutchie helped her call them all in.

Swimming inland, they hoisted themselves up, until they were one big soaking wet mob, desperate to get their promised lunch.

She was handing out the pastramis, when Jack came over, his foot long sandwich wedge in his mouth. If he wasn't bare chested and wet, she would have found it cute, but he pulled her to him from behind, and she was cold.

"Jack!" Katherine squeaked. "You're getting me wet."

Jack shrugged, taking his sandwich out of his mouth and rested his chin on her shoulder. "You'll drip dry."

"Hey plums, why ain't you in the water?" Race asked, turkey sandwich in hand as he pointed it at her accusingly.

Davey, next to him, pushed the sandwich down and frowned at Race. "Leave her alone. Katherine's a lady, Race. And she's gotta stay lady like, and you can't do that swimming in Brooklyn with a bunch of Newsboys."

Race scowled. "Please, like Plums ever acted like a lady. She hangs with our crowd remember? Besides, I think she's only stayin' dry 'cause she can't paddle to save 'er life."

Jack narrowed his eyes, pulling Katherine in close to defend her. "Ace can swim. She told me she grew up swimming in Pulitzer's fountain at their house."

Katherine giggled at the memory. From the age of three, her way of entertainment was the driveway fountain. It was deep and full of goldfish and lilies, perfect for avoiding her nanny who came running to find her before Pulitzer realised his daughter was missing.

Katherine sighed, she was going to show Race.

She took out the gold comb that was keeping her hair in place, handing it to Jack. She proceeded to take off her shoes, camisole and skirt, until she stood only in a flimsy bralette and her powder pink satin undershorts. She strode from Jack's arms to the water, smiling smugly.

If it weren't for her long auburn hair, Katherine would have been uncomfortable standing at the edge of the pontoon in her underwear but it hung underneath her rib cage, covering most of her belly that was exposed. Without a moment to lose, Katherine took a breath and plunged into the water in a somersault.

The boys stared wide at where Katherine once had been standing. If they thought Jack looked distressed they had another thing coming looking at Race's face.

"I-I didn't think she'd do it." He murmured. "Oh shit, what the hell have I done?"

Jack kept looking at the spot still rippling where she had jumped into. It had been a minute since they saw her. "Ya killed Katherine." He murmured. Then he looked at Race directly in the eye and broke the eerie calmness of his tone. "RACE YA KILLED KATHERINE!"

"Hey, hey. It wasn't me entirely. I mean she did kinda drown herself. It was like suicide, yeah?" He tried to be jovial, as Jack cornered him on the pontoon.

"Suicide? MY FIANCÉ DIDN'T COMMIT GOD DAMN SUICIDE RACE. YOU MADE HER FEEL BAD AND SHE JUMPED TO PROVE HER POINT."

The rest of the newsboys eyes lit up in confusion. "Fiancé? Jack and Katherine ain't engaged." Murmured Specs to Spot and Angie. They both looked at each other, not knowing whether or not to let the secret out.

In that moment, the water below them erupted, as Katherine broke the surface. She caught a breath and grinning, slicked her soaked hair back. "I told you so Race!" She exclaimed. His face drained in relief, for he was not going to be killed by Jack. Jack though bared his teeth in a matching grin to Katherine's and he almost cried.

"Ace, you stupid, stupid girl." He cried, lifting her torso from the water. He pulled her wet body into his arms where he was on his knees on the planks and squeezed her so hard, she thought she might collapse. "Don't ever scare me like that again."

"Oh, Jack!" She squeaked. "I'm not dying. Let go of me."

He refused to, burying his face in her drenched hair. "Stop talking for once, would ya Ace?"

When they had all dried out, they walked to the Brooklyn bridge. They aligned themselves on the railings, sitting next to one another so that their legs dangled off the side.

Jack had his arm protectively around Katherine's waist, on his guard after the last ordeal. Next to them were Spot and Angie, and on the other side Specs and Race.

Specs glanced to Katherine and Jack, smirking. " So what's this about fiancés I hear?" He said it loud enough for everyone to hear, and they all called out to agree with Specs.

Jack sighed, smiling before kissing Katherine's cheek. Now was a better time to tell his boys rather then never. "We're gonna get married." He paused, looking out to the river beneath them. "I don't know when, but we are."

"So it could be tomorrow we see Kathy in a veil?" Crutchie laughed. "Or in five years when you two finally get a blessing from Pulitzer?"

"Like hell Pulitzer would agree. Especially if it's Jack asking, he ain't gonna cave in to some broke street ass." Spot said.

Angie raised her eyebrow at him. "Spot, it takes a great deal for a man to even propose to a girl, Jack at the moment is better than all those other men in high end jobs, who forget their girls even exist."

"Thanks Ang." Jack chuckled.

"No worries cowboy." She brushed him off before turning back to Spot. "Besides Spot, maybe ya should take advice from Jack, I mean, it is every girl's dream to be proposed to."

"You tellin' me to propose to ya Ang?" He raised his voice.

Katherine expected her to cower, but Angie spat back just as aggravated. "I ain't tellin' ya nothin' Conlon! You'd be too pig headed to listen to me anyway!"

"Well maybe I'm just too pigheaded to take ya to that jazz club tomorrow night like ya asked me too!"

"Michael god damn Conlon, you wouldn't dare!"

"Yeah? Maybe I wou-"

Katherine tired of the banter, cut in. "Alright! Would you both quit it? You both have plenty of time to discuss your wedding details if there are any, just please keep the peace."

They both stared back at her, not saying a word, the anger slowly disappearing from their gaze.

It wasn't until Spot chuckled lowly, that the silence hasted. "Ya got ya self a keeper here Kelly."


	4. Date Night

**So this was supposed to be short and happy, but ended up really sad and depressing. Ok. I'm like a sentence away from finishing the following chapter that carries the story out. I own no one but Angie. The rest goes to Disney. Much love and please review, Layla.**

Katherine and Jack stood arm in arm with paper bags, steaming with hot food containers, at her apartment door.

"Would you take these please hon?" Katherine passed her bags to Jack, while she fished her keys out of her bra. Jack looked at her and held back a laugh. "Why do girls always keep things in there?"

She shrugged, opening the door. "Makes it harder for people to steal it."

"Be pretty easy for me."

"Watch yourself Kelly."

When they were inside, she led him to the living room, setting their dinner down on the coffee table.

"You want me to get your typewriter?" Jack asked.

"Yes please. Thank you." She kissed his lips softly and he went to her study to receive the beast. This was the date he'd promised her earlier if he'd come with her to Brooklyn. Even if she hadn't come with him, Jack still would have rocked up at her apartment, had dinner and helped her finish her article.

She saw him come back in with her typewriter, obviously struggling. The thing weigh almost fifteen kilos and was not meant to be transported around.

"Jack-" she tried to help him.

"I got it." He let it drop on the table next to the food, his chest heaving, panting.

She raised the corner of her mouth. "You hot and bothered, Kelly?"

He bit his lip, and stretched his his arms above his head. "You wish, Plumber."

She laughed. "Just sit down and eat, would you?"

They opened the carbonara and the ravioli first, taking one each to eat half of and then swap.

Katherine was in the middle of sucking a long strand of creamy pasta into her mouth when Jack said, "Hold up."

"Wha?" She said, trying not to let the pasta fall.

"Ya look perfect right now. I wanna sketch ya." He took his pad out of his bag next to him as well as a pencil and began to mark quick strokes on the page. Katherine began to protest, but Jack snapped, "Just push that hair behind your ear, and stay still. This could be the greatest sketch I've done of you."

Katherine frowned and did as she was told. After five minutes or so of furrowed brows and tips of tongues sticking out slightly, Jack gave her the signal that she could move.

"Are you being serious with me Jack? I sat there with pasta hanging out for five minutes just so you could sketch me?" She asked, chewing finally on the strand.

He held up the pad to her, showing a rather good sketch. "Yeah but look at it. You don't get that at galleries Ace."

She giggled, giving in. "It's lovely. Now please let's finish so you can start helping me with my article."

They cleaned up the boxes well, leaving leftovers for Jack to take to the boys when he came back to the lodging house.

"Ok let's start." Katherine sighed, setting herself up in front of her typewriter. "What comes to your mind when you think of human trafficking?"

"Confusion. What the hell is human trafficking, Ace?"

"Uh, ok. Brace yourself for this one. It's the illegal trade of another's body."

" How?"

She knitted her brows, trying to think of a way to explain. "Like it could be selling slaves. Or, uh, more physical like organ theft." She cleared her throat. "I'm writing on this circle in upper west side that's responsible for a whole lot of people going missing. They were found a week later dead and missing their kidneys, their hearts and lungs."

Jack grimaced. "That's honestly disgusting. Please don't tell me you're interviewing this circle, Ace."

She didn't respond, and Jack took the hint. She most definitely was. "Katherine! Doesn't that scare you? These people can get your name and track you down, you'd be their next target." He laced her hands in his. "I don't like it when you put yourself in danger at work."

She rolled her eyes, and cupped her palms around his jaw. "Jack, sweetheart, I love you. I'm not putting myself at risk. Darcy is coming with me to interview them at the city prison on Tuesday. I won't be alone if they try anything." Katherine kissed his lips reassuringly. His heart broke a little when she pulled away, but let her never the less for he knew she had to keep working.

They worked on the bulk of it for the next hour, Katherine speaking her ideas and Jack saying whether not he liked it.

"The families of the victims are scarred by this horrible ordeal of events and are demanding justice to be served upon this group of criminals. Interviews with the circle will be released in the next issue of the Sun." She read aloud her last sentence and looked up to Jack. He had his chin in his fists and looked blank. "It's done honey. I'm now all yours for tonight."

"It's good." Jack said. "Good enough to get you to bed." He picked her up bridal style and took her to the bedroom. Tucking her under the satin duvet, Jack kissed her forehead and murmured a goodnight.

"Wait, where are you going?" Katherine asked, panicking as he turned on his heel to leave.

He ruffled the back of his head. "I gotta be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow Katherine."

"But you always sleep over on date nights."

He saw the hurt in her eyes, like she was a lost puppy. "I guess I'm just not up to it."

She pulled the cover off her and got on her knees. "Jack just come over here."

He hesitantly sat on the edge of the queen sized bed, but kept his attention on his hands in his lap.

"What's the matter, Jack? Did I do something wrong?" She asked softly.

He shook his head. "You're just worrying me. I want to see you safe all the time, but I can't." He finally looked up at her. "Do you know how much it would kill me if you got hurt. And what for? The sake of a damn article your boss might not even use."

"Jack, this is my job. It's risky. But I'm a big girl, I can look after myself ok?" She replied before taking his arm and pulling him down next to her.

She lie face to face with him and shuffled in closer so their bodies fit like jigsaw puddles. "I'm intelligent enough to see danger when it's right in front of me Jack."

He said nothing but only pulled her leg over his hip and wrapped his strong arm around her waist.

She heard him sigh. "And Darcy's going to be with you?"

Katherine grinned, knowing that she'd won. "The whole time."

"Ok." Jack smiled slightly and ran his fingers through her hair. "You got the all clear from me."

"I was going to go even if I didn't get the all clear from you."

"Yeah, Ace, I know."

She giggled and filled in the space between them. Her lips tasted sweet to him, like she'd smothered them in honey. He smiled at the thought, Katherine feeling it as he did so. After a while of soft, tender kisses, Jack felt her getting tired of the repetitive play. He let her roll on top of him, so she sat on his hips and buried her fingers in his hair. The kisses this time were more urgent, but she still kept the slow pace.

"Katherine," he breathed. "You're tired, we don't gotta do this now."

She shook her head, and continued to press kisses along his jaw. "I want to."

Jack sighed and raised his hands to the hem of her blouse, lifting it off her body. She took the liberty herself to guide his hands next to unclasp her bra, letting it fall to the floor to find the next morning. She even took his palms to press against her breasts, which Jack took control of quickly.

Palming one of them, he took the other and began placing small kisses on her peak. He practically grinned when he heard her moan, it vibrating slightly in her chest.

"Mm. Jack." She gasped as she felt him softly bite the skin, not hard enough to draw blood, but enough to leave a mark.

Katherine found herself trying to button his shirt, but realised she was getting know where while he was paying so much attention to her breasts. She gave him a gentle shove and picked back up where she started on the buttons.

Katherine knew that Jack was muscular, she always had. One time when they had just met, his shirt had drooped low enough for her to see his well define chest and torso, gained by years of carrying heavy newspaper bundles. It wasn't until they had first undressed one another in her apartment had she been able to confirm that she wasn't seeing things.

His build still took her by surprise even then though as Katherine ran her fingers down his flesh. Jack's arms were so big and strong, yet were always gentle with her.

"Good view?" Jack murmured to her, snickering.

Katherine whacked his chest playfully. "You keep making fun of me and I'll stop."

He raised his hands in surrender and Katherine leant back down to continue travelling kisses.

When she reached just above his belt, Katherine eagerly undid it and began to pull the dark grey pants off him. Her fingertips brushed the bulge see could see slightly in his underwear, producing a husky growl from where he was back resting up against the pillows. She glanced up at him before tugging at the waistband and taking them off him.

In her fingers he was already hard, but that didn't mean she didn't have to try.

She began running her hand along his length, earning several encouraging throaty groans that signalled Katherine to keep going.

When she took his tip in her mouth, Jack's breath hitched. He buried his fingers in her buttery hair, feeling as if he were melting away. After several minutes of her blows, Jack felt himself getting close.

"Ace, baby, stop." He grunted.

She got the idea and pulled herself off him. He raised himself off the silk pillows and gently took hold of Katherine's waist, guiding her down to where he had been lying.

"You're walls are sound proof aren't they?" Jack asked quietly, unzipping her skirt.

Her jaw dropped and she helped kick off the magenta taffeta. "Probably not. But I haven't been getting any complaints yet."

He leaned in close, the elastic of her panties in his firm grip, and planted a kiss on her sternum as he slid them down her long legs.

When she felt his tip brush against her entrance, Katherine gave him a reassuring nod to keep going.

It was a feeling the two of them could never get used to. The way that Katherine would bury her head in the crook of Jack's neck, and how he would place his large hands just under her breasts, ever so gently. Without the little touches and caresses, it would end up drab and boring, like the way her friend Clara described her first time to her when they were sixteen.

"He was attractive," Clara had said, sitting on Katherine's bed one night in her bedroom back at the Pulitzer house. "You could say that."

"Yeah, but was he," Katherine struggled to find the words that didn't make her sound uncouth. "Good?"

Clara giggled, clutching her stomach and shaking her head. "Oh, Katherine, it was terrible! Before I could even relish the moment, he was spent and said he had to go back and finish work at his office. But you know what was the worst?"

Katherine knitted her brows together, wondering how it could possibly be worse. "What?"

"He didn't even have an office job!"

Katherine almost laughed at the memory, but was too overwhelmed by Jack's slow thrusts to even give it a second thought.

"Jack," she sighed, digging her nails slightly into his shoulder blades. "Faster."

He obeyed, picking up the pace to the point that he was afraid their loud moaning would wake Katherine's neighbours.

Jack brought a hand to her clitoris, rubbing as he moved in and out of her. This additional touch drove Katherine wild, her legs wrapping round his hips, and causing her to sink her teeth into his shoulder.

"Katherine!" He winced, knowing that their would be a mark the next morning. Another mark for the boys to ask questions and snigger about.

"Sorry." She apologised airily.

After several more thrust Katherine found her stomach in a knot, signalling she was close. She could tell Jack was too, by the way he had increased the intensity of his poundings. Once gentle and slow, they had become ragged and desperate.

"Oh, Jack," she breathed, finding her walls clench around him. Yelping, Katherine found herself climaxing to several waves of pleasure sweep over her.

He came only shortly after, collapsing into heap onto her. Kissing the spot behind her ear, Jack sighed. "You're incredible."

Katherine beamed silently and buried her face deeper into the crook of his neck. Jack rolled her over, so her face was inches from his, but their limbs still tangled together.

"Katherine Pulitzer, you never cease to amaze me." Jack whispered.

"I don't intend to stop," she pressed her lips against his.

"But ya know I'd just wish you'd be more careful in what'cha throw yourself into." He said it against her skin as a plea. Katherine rolled her eyes, knowing he was talking about the interview.

"Jack," she scowled. "I'm careful ok? Would you stop being so overprotective?"

"Katherine, I think it's my right to make sure you don't end up hurt." He retorted, before whispering to himself, "you don't seem to care about your wellbeing enough."

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

She propped herself up on her elbow and furrowed her brows. "Look, I've told you this before; I'm a professional at my job and have to do what is asked of me by my boss. End of story."

"Oh, and if your boss bent you down over his desk and went at it, you'd think that's ok too?" He snapped, anger starting to broil in his tone.

"I think I'd have the integrity to say no! This story isn't about me Jack, it's about others who have suffered from these attacks."

Jack had sat himself up as well, the once happy scene of their post love making gone. "Well maybe ya should go then Katherine. Go and dig around so hard that you end up far too damaged to be repaired." She saw a glint in his eye, and he roared with rage, "And don't come cryin' to me when you's been abducted into some place to be raped and brutally killed!"

Tears started to fall down Katherine's cheeks and she dabbed them away before getting out of bed to walk to her dresser. She yanked the top draw open and started to look for clothing.

"What'cha doin' now?" He called bitterly back from the bed.

"I'm going for a walk." She sniffled. Pulling a dress over her and grabbing her coat, Katherine stormed out of the bedroom. "Don't follow me."

"Yeah I'll just stay in your own apartment." He yelled, "Take your God damn time Katherine!"

He heard the front door slam and cursed under his breath.


	5. Lost and Found

**So this got a little dark. I'm sorry. Picks up where the last chapter left off. Reviews are greatly appreciated, like seriously.**

**Layla**

KATHERINE

The cold air nipped against Katherine's cheeks, making her pull her coat tighter against her body. Although Summer in New York, the nights were still cold and unwelcoming.

She thought back to what had just happened back at her apartment and tears threatened to fall again.

"Stupid jackass," she muttered. "And his stupid ego."

Katherine didn't know where she was walking to, but kept up the brisk pace even though her heels had started to ache. Bending down, she slipped her foot out of her stiletto and rubbed it tenderly.

"You right there miss?" A voice echoed behind her.

She spun around, almost tripping over, to see two men side by side. The petty excuse of a moustache and bowler hat were familiar and she immediately recognised their faces.

"Morris and Oscar Delancey." She said, her voice clearly displaying her disliking to the brothers.

"Would you look here Morris? It's Kelly's girl. Now tell me, what do you think she's doing on the streets this late at night? And all by herself?" Oscar smirked. She pierced her eyes at him, seeing his own scan her body all over.

Morris caught his glare on her chest, where the drooping fabric failed to cover her bust. "I don't know Oscar, but it sure would be bad if something happened to her. I mean, like you said, she's all alone."

"Get away from me." Katherine growled.

They both advanced further, where she found her back pressed up the bricks of the near wall.

Oscar placed a rough hand on her waist. "Oh come on, sugar, you look upset! Why don't you come with us, huh?"

"Leave me alone!" She cried, raising a hand to strike his face.

The easy going demeanour washed away, revealing rage instead. Katherine tried to escape when he pulled her arms behind her back sharply, but was defeated by his strong grip. "You fucking bitch!" He growled.

Morris shook his head. "You done it know girl. We both know Oscar doesn't like a lady who speaks her mind."

Katherine, still struggling, was thrown to the floor. Oscar pinned her down with his hips and seized her by the shoulders. He chuckled lowly, bringing his face to hers. "Oh the things I'd like to do to you miss Pulitzer."

She waited for him to do something but was saved by Morris, who knocked him on the head. "Hey, not yet. Boss said we can't have her till he's done."

Oscar rolled his eyes and backed up a little. "Looks like we's gonna have to wait to have our fun, doll face."

With that, he raised a fist and brought it down to her temple, knocking Katherine out cold.

JACK

"Any o' you see Katherine walk through here?" Jack called to the mass of Newsies as they sat on the staircase of the lodging house, eating their breakfast and surveying the day's headlines.

Davey furrowed his brow. "No, have you lost her?"

"Yeah, she said she was going for a walk last night and didn't show back up later." He replied.

"Why'd she go walkin'?" Crutchie asked, folding his newspaper close.

Jack sank his teeth into his lower lip and sat down next to him. "We got into a fight. I guess she just wanted to cool off. I went to bed thinking she'd come back, but she still wasn't there when I woke up this morning."

"I'm sorry Jack, but we ain't seen her. Maybe she's at her dad's office."

Jack smiled a little and shook his head. "Like hell she would. That would be the last place Katherine would go."

Davey rolled his eyes. "You could at least try there. I know Pulitzer ain't our favourite person, but his daughter is. Do it for Katherine."

"You talkin' like she's dead." He said lowly.

"I didn't say that Jack." Retorted Davey, getting up off the stairs. "Come on, I'll come with you."

The two boys stood outside Pulitzer's office timidly, hands in pockets and eagerness in their eyes. They had gotten past Hannah at the reception, claiming they were there to give important news, which she had believed reluctantly. However the idea of how to break the news to Pulitzer was still waiting to occur to Jack.

There was a clearing of a throat behind the heavy mahogany doors proceeding by Pulitzer calling lowly, "Come in."

" Hi, Mr. Pulitzer sir." Davey smiled. He wasn't the one who had been recently shunned at Pulitzer's dinner table therefore was the one to call the greeting.

"It's David isn't it?" Pulitzer looked up from his glasses.

"Yes sir."

"Then please tell me David, why Jack Kelly is in my office. I thought the last time we met made it clear; that that would be the last time we met."

"Please Mr. Pulitzer." Jack said, ignorant to the man before him and his problems. "It's important."

He sighed. "Go on then."

"We's were just wonderin' if you'd seen Katherine walk through here at all."

Hearing his daughter's name, he stopped what he was doing, suddenly intrigued. "She hasn't been here. She never is. Why?"

Jack went blank. He couldn't explain to Katherine's father that she was missing because he had upset her. He also couldn't mention that he had been sleeping in her bed when woke to find her gone. So Jack settled for the next most logical answer. "Katherine went walking last night." It was true, but didn't mention the fact that it was brought on by their argument.

"Yes. She often does when she's stressed. What's so different about that?" Pulitzer said.

"Well ya see sir, Katherine didn't come back. And We's didn't see her this morning. I'm scared something happened to her."

Pulitzer didn't reply, but looked only at a frame on his desk solemnly. Jack faintly saw a small girl on a smiling Pulitzer's shoulders, who looked no older than four. The cheeks and eyes gave it away that it was Katherine, caught in a snapshot of rare happiness with her father. "I'll help you look." He said finally.

"Where do we start?" Asked Davey.

Pulitzer picked up the black telephone from the corner of his desk and began dialling numbers. "I'll make some phone calls. You two go back out on the street and keep looking."

Jack nodded. "We'll come back if we find her."

KATHERINE

When she awoke, all Katherine could feel was the harsh cool concrete on her cheek. She tried focusing on the room she was in, but her vision was blurry and distorted. The only thing that really stood out were the ugly cracked cream walls towering around her.

Katherine wasn't certain of what had happened, and why she wasn't home. It only came rolling back to her when she sat up slowly, her temple pounding. She'd been approached by the Delanceys and knocked out by Oscar when she tried to get away.

In the room, there were no windows, no where she could cry out for help. There was a lone iron framed bed that contained a bare mattress. At least she wouldn't die on the floor.

But where she was, was the question she kept asking herself.

The was a jingle of keys from behind her, where a red painted door stood. It creaked open, and she watched Oscar Delancey walk through, a smug look on his face. "Afternoon sweetness." He locked the door behind him, leaning against it as he watched Katherine struggle on the floor.

"What did you do to me?" She slurred, and found her bearings when she sat on her knees.

He pulled a capped syringe out of his jacket, before twirling it round in his fingers. "Nifty stuff ain't it, Morphine? I almost gave myself a shot. But the amount I gave you? Nah, that'd send me over the edge." He got down on his knees in front of her and pushed a tendril of hair behind her ear. "Kinda like you have, huh?"

"Where am I? Why the hell are you doing this?" She demanded, feeling tears pool in her eyes.

"The children's refuge of New York. It's a real good place to lie low now that it's abandoned. And don't blame me doll face, I ain't the one in charge. Morris and I only got into this for the money, no hard feelings."

Katherine wanted to scream. But Jack had told her about the Refuge, their walls were so thickly bricked that even if you screamed at the top of your lungs, no one outside could hear you. She then thought about Jack. Had he realised she was missing yet? God how she missed him despite her frustration with him that had caused this whole mess.

She silenced her reverie and looked back at Oscar. "Tell me who's in charge."

"Give you a hint, baby. Your boy back home won't be too pleased to find out that he's out of jail and turned to murder."

"Snyder." She mouthed, mortified.

"Lucky guess." Oscar looked around the room. "Now if you wanted to extend your days just that bit more, you could do me a favour."

Katherine snarled. "I'd rather die than commit to your sick perverted suggestions."

He reached into his pocket, mouth straight, and pulled out what looked like brass knuckles. He slipped them on his right fingers, rolling up his sleeve. "We've been through this last night, doll face. You don't respect me and I gotta teach you a good lesson."

The first blow hit Katherine's jaw, which she screamed in pain, clutching it tightly. The second hit her throat, winding her as she doubled over onto her stomach. Oscar took this as an advantage to climb on her hips and rip her coat off her back.

With her chin on the concrete, she heard the rip of her dress being torn down the middle. In an instant her back was bare, and the scraps of the dress were being shimmied off her body. She thanked God that she had thought to put on undergarments last night. They weren't much, but they were keeping a barrier between her body and Oscar's prying eyes.

"Stay still!" He ordered when Katherine had tried to shuffle away. Scared, she obeyed and clenched her teeth through several more beatings on her back and thighs.

He finally stopped, chuckling to himself. "You know what doll face? I bet your boy ain't even gonna see these on your back. Maybe we'll give Jack a little something more obvious to focus on when he sees your body for the last time."

Was he implying her death? In all honesty, Katherine had seen it coming. Nobody got abducted and walked away harm free. But never the less the fact still scared the living hell out of her.

Oscar rolled her over, regaining his place back on her hips. He yanked on the underwire of her brassiere, exposing her chest.

"Please," Katherine whimpered.

"Shut it." His hands roughly placed themselves on her breasts, before he raised one of them. The impact of his brass knuckles on Katherine's tender chest was so hard, she felt like she had just been hit by a baseball bat. She knew there would definitely be bruises later. He continued, in patches, until her whole chest ached.

"That'll teach you." He spat, leering above her. He dismounted her, and turned for the door. "Don't try anything stupid doll face. Things won't be pretty."

JACK

Davey and Jack had spent the day looking, going as far as Brooklyn to find where Katherine was. It was dusk when they walked into the Brooklyn lodging house, where numerous newsies loitered, coming back from their daily rounds.

"Hey, Tasty," Jack said, confronting the skinny boy on the stairs who was in the middle of licking a jam jar clean. "You seen my girl, Katherine around here?"

He brought the sticky jar away from his mouth and frowned. "Sorry Jackie, I ain't seen her."

"Thanks anyway Taste. You know where I can find Spot?"

Tasty pointed up the wooden staircase. "Think he's in his room. You know where it is."

"Thanks. Enjoy your jam kid." Jack lead Davey where they had been directed, finding themselves in a long hall aligned with cheap wooden doors. Unlike Manhattan, Brooklyn's living areas were more closed off to one another. Jack stopped at the last door, where he knocked three times impatiently.

"Who is it?" Spot called from behind the door.

"Jack and Davey." Replied Jack.

There was a sigh and a loud thump like something heavy behind hit on the floor, which was followed by a screech.

"Aight Jack. You can come in."

They came through the door, where a swollen lipped, bed headed Spot sat on the double bed. On the floor was Angie, picking herself up and looking pissed. "Try next time to not throw me on the timber Conlon." She muttered, rubbing her lower back. It was obvious they had been interrupted, but quite frankly Jack didn't care, he needed to find Katherine.

"Thought'yd drop by Kelly?" Spot smirked.

"Spot ya gotta help me. Katherine's gone missing." Jack pleaded, Davey backing behind him.

"Missing? Like how missing?"

"Like missing as in we've looked all over New York and not one person has seen her."

Angie, who had sat herself practically on Spot's lap frowned. "Jack, I don't wanna be rude, but, maybe Katherine doesn't want to be found."

Jack pulled a face. "What the hell do ya mean. Of course she would wanna be found."

"I mean, maybe she realised that marrying you wasn't the best she could do. Maybe she's looking for something else."

" Shut up Ang, that's bullshit. She ain't run away. I know Ace and she don't run away from things." Jack was bitter, but inside a part of him died hearing Angie's words. Could she be right? He wasn't exactly husband material. And Katherine did deserve better, not some street rat who couldn't even afford a place of his own.

"Look we've literally checked the whole city for her," Davey cut in. "Her father even put out phone calls to the police. We've never seen him like this."

Spot raised his eyebrows. "So bad, Pulitzer had to take a break from his work. Damn, this gotta be serious."

"I just want her back." Jack murmured. Davey was scared he was going to start crying, something he'd never seen before. Jack collected himself though, rubbing his face in his hands.

Angie came over and put her arms around him affectionately. "Hey, we'll find her. Spot and I's will help ya too, ok?"

"Yeah, we'll follow ya back home, Jackie. Kathy couldn't have gone far." Spot reassured. Jack wasn't so sure though.

KATHERINE

It had been almost two days in the room, in which Katherine hadn't eaten at all. Her stomach, a persistent grumbling reminder, churned for what could have been the hundredth time that evening.

It wasn't as if the Delanceys hadn't tried to force feed bread down her throat, which Katherine had bit their fingers in defence. She wasn't going to satisfy them by giving in.

There was a creak of the door and Katherine watched Oscar walk in, followed by someone who wasn't Morris. The silver hair and tall, unnatural statue resembled none other than Snyder. Katherine shuffled back to the peeled walls quickly, fear flooding through her body. This was the man who really was the reason she was here in the refuge, and she knew he had a purpose for it.

"Get away from me!" Katherine pleaded frantically.

"Calm down sweet cheeks, Snyder here ain't wanna hurt ya." Oscar paused before chuckling. "Yet."

Snyder lifted his thin mouth slightly, and advanced towards Katherine. He knelt down to get on her level and raked bony fingers through her dishevelled hair. "Little Katherine. I remember when you were just a young thing. Your father would bring you and your brother to the office and have you draw on the papers while he had meetings with myself and the others. My have you grown up."

She squeezed her eyes shut. "Please, just let me go."

"I couldn't do that now, Katherine. Not when Jack Kelly is still alive and breathing."

Her eyelids fluttered open. "So this is to get back at him, for getting you thrown in prison."

He smirked. "Your father too. He did nothing but watch as they took me away. I figured why not kill two birds with one stone and take something they both cared about dearly."

Katherine's heart sank. Her father, even though they had spoken last on a bad note, was probably distraught. There was nothing Joseph Pulitzer hated more than people taking what was his, especially if it was his own blood and flesh.

"Then what about the others, the others you killed? You took their organs and left them for dead." She questioned.

"They say prison makes you mad my dear. That you are a different man when you escape. I guess those people were just the damage of a bad storm starting to brew."

Her voice hitched in her throat, growing heavy as she started to sob. "And now you're going to kill me."

"That's right. But not now. Now I just want to give a preview." He smiled coldly and signalled Oscar to come grab her legs while he held her arms. They hoisted her body onto the bed in the other corner, where she lay limply.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Snyder pull a steel knife, from his coat. It looked dull and blunt, like he had used it numerous times before. Her body was yanked roughly by Oscar's firm hands so that she lay flat on her back.

"Now stay still you beautiful thing-" Katherine disobeyed and tried to make a run for it. Snyder however, reacted quickly and plunged the knife into her belly. She let out a blood curdling scream, unable to move as she clutched the quickly scarlet soaking wound above her left hip.

Snyder clenched his teeth, his eyes lit with rage as he yanked the knife out, making Katherine scream a second time. Her limbs fell limp and she collapsed, overwhelmed by the searing pain.

"I said don't move you brat." Snyder sneered, and struck her cheek with his fist. They proceeded to give her another shot of morphine in her neck, which made her perception blurry.

When they finally left, Katherine, drowsily found her dress on the floor, ripping a strip off. She folded the remains into a pad, placing it on the wound, before using the strip to hold it in place. It was hardly sufficient, and messy from her lack of coordination, but was all she could do for the time being to stop the bleeding.

It hurt, but Katherine ignored the pain. If she was going to get out of the refuge, she needed to be strong. Jack needed her to be strong.

JACK

Three days had been counted since Katherine went missing. The police had finally gotten involved, their men out on the banks of the Hudson wading through water till night fall. When Jack had asked why the Hudson, they solemnly explained that it was a possibility that Katherine was dumped somewhere, that being in the muddy banks of the river. He had prayed silently that this wasn't the case.

As well as this, the newsboys had also dropped their selling spots and papes to go and look for her. Race, Specs, Crutchie, Finch and Albert had stayed in central Manhattan streets while Romeo, Les, Smalls, and Sniper checked out Central Park. The rest of the boys flooded either Battery Park, Grand Central Station or the stretch of publishing houses that she worked around. A few of the younger boys stayed back at the lodging house, to make sure if she came back, someone one would be there.

Davey, Spot, Angie and Jack had just come back from Katherine's apartment, where they had scoured for any hints to where she might be. There wasn't anything, just little perfume bottles and jewellery that Jack had taken for his own sake.

They were walking back to the refuge, calling it a day, when Jack stopped to look at a building.

With his fists in his pockets, he gazed up at the destroyed, abandoned house. It's smashed windows had been boarded up and the bricks had begun to crumble in places. The Children's Refuge of New York. Even defaced, Jack could feel the sadness in the air that it brought upon, as fresh as when he was last locked in there.

"Jack?" Davey stopped too, standing behind him.

"Sorry," he said quietly. "I've just never seen it like this."

Angie linked her arm with Spot's and walked over too. "It's not even been a full year since it got shut down. The place's a mess." She said.

Spot frowned and looked up at a window, that had been draped from the inside with black curtains. He'd never seen them before. "Jack?" He asked softly.

Jack looked back at him, brows knitted. "What is it Spot?"

"We didn't check this place, did we?"

Hope gleamed in Jack's eyes and he walked quickly up to the door. The rest followed as he creaked open the heavy red door and descended into the dark front hall.

If someone had been occupying the space, they weren't concerned for its appearance. Cobwebs and dust aligned almost ever surface and furniture had been knocked over. They took the stairs to the second floor, trying their hardest to be silent. For all they knew, that occupant could still be there.

They scanned every level, splitting to check every door. When they reached the top level, they had almost given up hope.

While Jack was in the first few rooms with Davey, he heard what could only be a cry from Angie and a stressed, "Jack, Davey!" From Spot in the last room.

Jack rushed to where they were under the door frame, and almost sank to the floor when he saw her.

Lying in a heap was Katherine, her clothing nowhere to be found, only in her undergarments. Her hair, a teased and tangled chocolate mess covered her face as she lay still, face down on the concrete.

"Oh god," Jack breathed and flew down to where she lay.

"Ace!" He cried, pulling her up into his arms. He saw her face and felt sick, she was thin and pale like the dead. "Ace, honey, please, it's Jack!"

Her sunken eyes began to flutter, and Jack's heart hitched. "Jack?" She croaked.

"Yeah Katherine, it's me. I got you."

The other three stood at the door, not saying anything until Jack looked back at them. "Why is she so out of it?" He asked.

Angie came over, taking Katherine's head in her lap. She pulled her eyes wider open gently and her lips contracted into a thin line. "She's been drugged up on morphine, a lot of it too. I'm surprised she's responding at all."

"Morphine?" Spot raised his voice.

"You need to go," they heard Katherine mutter deliriously. "They're going to come back."

"Who's gonna come back?" Jack ran a hand through her hair, detangling some of the knots.

"Snyder, the Delanceys."

Jack's blood boiled. It could have been anyone in New York, but it ended up being those three.

He took a breath and said, "Katherine, we're gettin' you outa here ok?" Before picking her up in his arms. She yelped as he did so, and began to cry. Jack noticed the bandaged wound on her belly and apologised. "Sweetheart, can you tell me what happened?"

"He stabbed me," she sobbed. "Snyder stabbed me."

"Jack, if she got stabbed she's probably lost a whole lotta blood already." Davey murmured to him. "She needs medical attention."

"Ok, ok. Come on Ace, we're going."

As he turned to head out, the group heard footsteps coming from the stairs.

"Shit!" Hissed Spot. "Someone's here!"

They froze, unknowing where to turn until Jack caught eye of the window.

"You guys go first and I'll come down the pipe with Katherine." He ushered them out, one by one, first Angie, then Spot and finally Davey. They were on the ground when Jack hoisted his leg over the frame. He was about to pull the other one over when he heard a tongue clicking behind him.

"If it isn't Jack Kelly." It was Snyder, next to him Oscar and Morris. "I'll have you know that you can't go taking other people's property. It's called theft, and I know you're very familiar with that."

"She ain't yours!" Jack growled.

"Well I don't see why she'd be yours. You aren't anything to her, she doesn't need you." As much as he hated to, Jack realised Snyder spoke the truth. Without him, Katherine would keep going, she wasn't relying on him for funds or shelter. He couldn't even tell if she'd said yes to marrying him because she wanted to, or because she was just kind.

"Why'd you take her?" Jack demanded finally. "She ain't done nothing to ya."

"Ah, but you have. You and Pulitzer. I needed a way to make you both suffer, so beautiful little Katherine was the solution. And I can't let you take her from me now." Snyder paused. "Oscar, Morris, as you will."

The two brothers grinned wickedly, slipping on two pairs of brass knuckles each.

Jack, still holding Katherine, backed up slowly. There was no way out, he couldn't go through the window and the door was blocked by Snyder. So he shielded Katherine's frail body as best as he could and waited for the blows to come.

However they didn't come, for Jack heard what sounded like a mob rioting up the stairs. The Delanceys must have heard it too, for they craned their neck to see what the commotion was.

Crutchie stood at the door, playing the leader of the group, which had to be at least thirty newsies.

"Let's soak em for Kathy!" He roared, and the boys behind him flooded the room.

Fists, feet and crutches were all a blur, hitting and tackling Snyder and the Delanceys.

"What's happening?" Katherine whispered to Jack.

Jack laughed lightly and shook his head, "I have no clue Ace."

They watched Snyder fall unconscious to the floor after Crutchie had butchered his skull with his crutch. The Delanceys however were still fighting.

There was a cry of pain when Romeo and Race both jumped on Morris, for Race fell to the ground clutching his arm where Morris had bent it. It was bent at an odd angle and bone had jutted out where it shouldn't on his forearm. Romeo finished him off with a fist to the nose, before rushing down to Race.

"Race, buddy, can ya see how many fingers I'm holdin' up?" Romeo cried.

With his good arm, Race swatted him away. "Ya idiot, my arms broken, I'm not seeing a bright light or nothin. Go and help the boys finish off Oscar."

Oscar was having his head smashed repeatedly on the wall by Finch, Albert, Specs and Sniper. Smalls was behind them, yelling strings of abuse.

His head had started to bleed and become a porridge like consistency as it was split open. With a final thrust, the boys had managed to get Oscar unconscious.

"Is everybody holding up ok?" There were two police officers at the door, bats in arm as they stood in front of Angie, Spot and Davey. They must have called them outside and came back up the stairs.

Race was propped up on the floor his arm, throbbing. "We's all good sir. We took care a this one. But I think ya should maybe deposit them in a higher security prison, cause that Snyder just escaped the last one."

It was three days later when Katherine woke up properly. They had taken her immediately home and Darcy, who had been on the search for Katherine, dialled on Clara, her best friend. She had just become a qualified nurse and was needed to assist her injuries. She would survive, but the morphine and trauma had taken so much effect on her, that they let her wake when she needed to.

Jack was seated beside her bed, holding her hand, when she began to stir.

"Jack," she said softly, yawning.

He beamed and kissed her forehead, wary of the large bruise accumulating her temple. "Good mornin' sleepin' beauty."

Katherine giggled and squeezed his hand. "I was dreaming."

"About?"

"You."

"What I do?"

She smiled and motioned him to kiss her. "You finally married me, bought a house on the upper east side, got a cat and got me pregnant."

"Yeah, you's were dreaming."

Katherine frowned, offended but was reassured when Jack offered, "I mean, a house on Upper East, honey? I can't afford that."

She swatted his arm and he laughed.

"There's no interview to worry about now, Jack." She sighed.

"No?"

She shook her head. "Those people were framed, alibis for Snyder."

Jack nodded. "Did you want a glass of water?"

"I want you in bed with me." Katherine pulled the covers down slightly and pulled him down next to her on the mattress.

Being careful of the bandaged wound on her belly, which had been stitched up by Clara, Jack wrapped his limbs around Katherine.

"I'm so glad we found you." He sighed into her neck.

"I'm just happy they threw those three back in prison." She kissed his shoulder. "And I'm happy I'm back home with you."


	6. Spiked

**So this is on a happier note than last time. And to those have been asking, yes I am updating this frequently. Pretty much as soon as I finish a chapter I'm onto the next one. It might take me up to a week depending how long it is. Thanks again though, reviews are appreciated greatly. **

**Layla**

On Fridays, it was poker night at Katherine's apartment. The older boys would come over, bringing whatever things they **could** to supply the evening. Davey's mother always made them flat breads and dips, which he would take on a big platter. Race smuggled in alcohol from the stash they kept under his bed, and Albert brought his deck of cards, that he had gotten at a flea market for a penny. The rest of the boys brought their game faces, determine to score that nights winnings. They didn't need anything more nor less.

Katherine, still supposed to be on bed rest from her recent injury, was propped up on a plush arm chair that Jack had brought in from the living room. If she was going to be out of bed, he wanted her to be comfortable, which he did so by dressing her in her nightgown and wrapping her in her blanket.

She growled from the heavy thing, her eyes turning to Jack. "I need to get a drink. Unwrap me."

"No can do princess," he chuckled, standing up. "I'll get it for you."

He returned with a glass of seltzer which she thanked him with a kiss.

"Would you two get a room?" Race sneered. "You's makin' me nauseated."

"Just cut the cards Race." Katherine ordered, sipping on her seltzer. He sighed and did so, passing the deck in sevens around the table.

Jack saw Katherine glow proudly behind her hand, and he tried to crane his head to see what she had.

Katherine, one step ahead, pushed his head away. "Gentlemen don't look at their ladies' poker hands."

"Ladies don't play poker." He retorted smugly.

She raised an eyebrow, and he apologised by murmuring a small, "I'm sorry," into her ear after pecking her cheek. Jack knew Katherine didn't like to be placed in gender roles, and to be honest he didn't like it when she was either. However, like what had just happened, well, happened and there was nothing he could do but act sorry and win her back with affection.

Race was not having any of it. They were all on their second round of the game when he felt obliged to fling an olive from Davey's platter at Jack and Katherine, who were once again at each others lips. They didn't mean to, and it wasn't full on lip locking, but Race still didn't like the idea of Jack being distracted at poker night, a tradition they had started even before Katherine.

The olive hit Jack's nose and he looked at the direction it had been thrown, where Race looked down at his hand playing the ' I did nothing' card.

"Didn't ya Ma ever tell ya not to play with ya food Race?" Jack asked.

The other boys sniggered at Race, until Jack felt bad and told them to call it quits.

The night proceeded on well, Finch and Romeo teaming up and proceeding to win most games, and Crutchie scoring his first Royal Flush. Most of the boys had retired to the living room, bored of not winning. Race however, was winning his own game.

Katherine had excused herself to go and fetch a pitcher of ice from the kitchen, Jack tailing to make sure she didn't hurt herself in the process.

When they were both out of sight, Race pulled in Romeo, Finch, Albert and Sniper when he saw that they were completely out the room.

"A'right boys, bare with me ok? This poker games gettin' tedious and I wanna laugh at somethin'. I'd give you guys more shots, but I know your drunk personalities too well."

"Whad'ya mean drunk personalities?" Finch questioned, genuinely confused.

Race shrugged. "Albert gets emotional and wants to talk about his problems, Specs tries to be flexible, Jack gets loud and hugs everyone, Romeo is an asshole. Just to name a few."

Romeo tried to comprehend what he was saying. "So you wanna get someone else tipsy? Like Kathy?"

"Essentially. But you's gotta keep quiet, otherwise she's gonna know something's up."

The boys agreed, eager to know the tipsy side of Katherine, and assigned Race to swap her glass throughout the night.

Before Katherine came back, he had taken the bottle of vodka off the floor and sloshed it into her glass.

"What's wrong?" Katherine asked, puzzled. The boys were looking at her sit down back in her arm chair, hoping she'd hurry up and drink from her glass. She shrugged it off and turned back to the game on the table.

After only an hour, Katherine had gone through four glasses, and was demanding more when Specs, Davey and Crutchie came back into the room.

"Specs, sweetheart, be a darling and get me another glass would you?" She called, louder than what was appropriate at the table. Specs gave her a look, then darted his eyes to Jack, as if to ask if she were ok.

Jack was equally confused, and shrugged his shoulders.

"Inside voice, huh Ace?" Jack murmured to her.

"I am using my inside voice!" She yelled back, almost bursting his ear drum. She decided Specs was taking too long so she turned to Albert. "Can you please, please get me a drink?"

He had to stifle a snort and nodded quietly, getting up after glancing at Race. Race nodded his head slightly, a signal to do what had to be done.

Spiking her drink for the fifth time, Albert returned with her glass.

She sloshed it down quickly, and giggled. "Thank you!"

Race was making his observations on her behaviour. She didn't seem to be a particularly violent drunk, she was just loud and giggled at everything. He watched her climb out of her arm chair, and sit down on Jack's lap, pulling his arms around her middle.

"Ace, sweetheart, whad'ya doin'?" Jack frowned.

"I wanna be closer to you." Katherine beamed, before squeezing his arms tighter. "Because I love you!"

Crutchie, across the table, squinted his eyes at the scene. "You drunk Kathy?"

"You wish Morris!" She giggled into Jack's forearm. She tried to kick her leg up from under the table for effect, but lost her balance and fell to the floor, hitting her head.

"Ow." Katherine grunted.

"She's wasted." Davey stated as Jack rushed to pick her up, and check to see if her stitches were still intact. They were thankfully and he shook his head at the mess of the girl beneath him. "I think it's time for bed, sweets." Jack murmured.

Katherine tried to writhe away, not succeeding in Jack's strong arms. "What? No!"

"Katherine, please."

"I don't want to!" She whined as he scooped her up and headed to her bedroom.

He lay her under the covers, bringing them up to her chin.

With a kiss to her forehead, he checked for any damage that might have occurred when she fell. He told himself she'd just have another bruise in the morning, but the fact that Katherine was fully fledged drunk made him worry. He'd probably stay the night to make sure she was ok.

"Why are you putting me in bed?" She asked, her speech slurred.

"Cause it's late. And you's look tired."

She pulled the covers down and got on her hands and knees. "I don't feel tired." Her voice was gravelly and low, her attempt to be seductive in her current state. Jack could smell the toxicity on her breath and cringed. Here was his girl, once smart and intellectual, now gone to the class of the girls who Romeo would bring back to the lodging house. It wasn't a compliment.

Katherine began going for his collar and he had to pry her hands off him, holding them above her head as he pushed her back on the mattress.

Katherine beamed. "Did I ever tell you I like it when you're dominant?"

"Oh for gods sake Katherine!" He almost yelled, frustrated with her. As tempting as it was, he wasn't going to give in to her wishes. She wasn't sober and he wasn't going to take advantage of her.

She giggled and kissed him sloppily, her mouth travelling down his jaw.

"Hey, stop." Jack resisted, craning away from her kisses. "Ace, honey."

"Jack, you're making this hard for me!" She squealed, before Jack had escaped her lips and pushed her head back onto the pillows, his fingers pressed firmly on the centre of her forehead.

"Katherine. Listen to me." He said firmly, looking directly into her eye. "Ya drunk."

She was still, which surprised him. Looking back into his green eyes, Katherine whispered, "I am, huh?"

He nodded twice and pressed his lips against her cheek. "Please go to bed sweetheart. You's not even recovered from your last stunt, just lay down. Ya don't even have to sleep."

"Ok." She spoke softly and turned on her side, pulling the silk duvet over her.

Jack got up and was about to shut the door when he heard her call his name.

"Hm?" He looked at her, or what was now the sprawled starfish under her bed covers.

"Can you sleep with me tonight?"

"Yeah," Jack smiled. "For sure."

Jack walked back into the small dining room, where the boys were at the table looking like they had gotten tired of Poker and resorted to Go Fish.

"Hey, Jackie boy." Specs grinned. "Your girl asleep finally?"

He raised the corner of his mouth, not entirely sincerely. "Yeah, she is."

"Hey, what I say? You's bein' all uptight all a sudden."

Jack sighed and bit his lip, shaking his head. "Who did it?"

"Whad'ya mean?" asked Finch, confused.

"I mean, who the hell spiked Katherine's drinks." Jack's mouth had formed a hard line, his eyes narrowed, clearly angry. "She ain't a big drinker, and when she does she ain't get wasted. So who out of you idiots did it?"

Albert, Romeo, Finch and Sniper all shot their eyes at Race, who sat between them, expressionless.

"What you's lookin' at me for?" He exclaimed. "I was only the brains, you's all did the dirty work."

The boys started to protest, hitting Race on the back of the head and yelling abuse, until Jack yelled,"Hey! I don't care who's God damn fault it is! The fact is, ya made a stupid decision, and what fucking for? Entertainment?" The boys cursed themselves silently. They had reached Jack's level of anger, where he would roll strings of swears off his tongue, even if none of it made sense. He didn't inherit an Irish tongue from his father for nothing.

"We's sorry Jack. We didn't know it'd make ya this worked up." Race apologised.

"I's don't give two flying fucks if ya sorry. You's all can go fucking apologise to Katherine instead when she's sober tomorrow morning, with a hangover the size of Texas!" Jack roared.

Davey sighed and stood to take Jack by the arm. "Hey, calm down. Katherine's probably sleeping now. And plus she's got neighbours too, who probably have the police's number written on the base of their telephones."

Jack glanced to Katherine's closed door down the hall and then to the floor. "I'm sorry." He mumbled. He took a breath and looked at Sniper, Albert, Finch, Romeo and Race. "Just go home, yeah?"

They stood and walked to the door at the entrance of Katherine's apartment, a gloomy mob acting like children who had just been told no. The front door shut gently and Jack's breath hitched. He felt empty after voicing all of that rage inside.

Crutchie, Specs and Davey had stayed behind, the only ones who weren't in on the plan.

"Ya good, Jackie boy?" Crutchie laughed. "I ain't gonna be necked by ya for talkin'?"

Jack shook his head and chuckled. "Shut it Crutch."

Davey and Specs joined in, mocking Jack.

"You gotta admit though, Jackie, Katherine is hilarious drunk." Specs laughed.

Jack sighed, deeply. "You don't know have of it. She's frisky too."

"That'd explain the lipstick on your jaw." Davey pointed out, reaching to smudge away Katherine's shimmery pink lipstick stains from his skin.

"It's her favourite colour. A gift from her Ma apparently. Expensive too." Jack noted.

"You're damn lucky she's wasting it on your face then."

Jack rolled his eyes and took a sip from Katherine's glass. He screwed his face up, hinting the strong vodka the boys had spiked it with.

"You want us to stay tonight, Jack?" Specs asked him. "Because I can assure you tomorrow morning she's gonna be hell."

"Yeah, I guess. The lounge fits two people and there's a spare mattress I can bring out from the back room."

Once they were all set up later, Jack bid them good night and proceeded to Katherine's bedroom. She was fast asleep, and he could swear he heard her snoring softly. Falling into the covers next to her, Jack pressed his lips to her nose and chuckled quietly to himself, "you're off the rails, kid."

The next morning Katherine woke up in her bed, feeling Jack's chest pressed up against hers. She didn't remember him staying over, nor did she even remember going to bed. In fact she didn't even remember what happened last night at all. She felt sluggish though, and the sun beaming through the windows burned her eyes when she opened them. The moment she pried her self away from Jack's embrace she regretted it, for her head pounded profusely. However she forced herself out of bed and slipped on her lilac coloured silk gown and headed to the kitchen.

She noticed that she wasn't alone, looking at who appeared to be Specs and Crutchie head to toe on her couch and Davey who was lying on his belly on a mattress on the floor. This just made her even more confused, but she didn't wake them, for she knew there must had been some explanation.

Katherine opened a few cupboards and began to make herself a mug of tea. Her kettle however whistled loudly, shrieking as steam shot through the cap.

"Shit." She cursed, and quickly tried to shut it up, but was too late.

"Kathy?" It was Crutchie, who had his head craned over the back of the sofa. His eyes were sleepy and hooded, but he was still smiling as he always did. "You up, huh?"

"What happened last night?" She murmured, rubbing her temple.

There was another yawn and it looked like Specs was awake too. "You's got wasted," he yawned. "Race and the other boys slipped alcohol into ya drink. Wanted to see how you dealt with it. Turns out your drunk personality was hilarious."

"My drunk personality?" Katherine groaned. "Tell me I wasn't embarrassing."

Crutchie laughed. "You's affectionate, that's for sure."

" Oh god. Kill me now."

Specs and Crutchie's laughter woke Davey on the floor, who yawned deeply and stretched his arms above his head. "How you feelin' Katherine?"

"Awful." She replied sluggishly. She would have kept talking if she hadn't just felt a wave of nausea roll through her stomach.

Davey furrowed his brow. "You ok there, Katherine?"

She shook a no and sprinted for the bathroom, the boys all on her tail.

As she got on her knees, and they assessed the situation, Davey getting down to hold back her hair and Specs running towels under the tap to put on her forehead. Crutchie ran to wake Jack, limping as fast as he could on his crutch.

After several heaves of emptying her stomach into the toilet, Katherine heard Jack bust through the door and replace Davey by rubbing circles into her back and keeping her hair out of the way.

"Ugh," she groaned, gasping for air.

"Well good morning to you too, Ace." Jack chuckled airily.

"Shut it Kelly," she hissed and heaved another time. Jack grimaced and went back to rubbing warmth into her skin.

"You's got hungover bad Katherine." Noted Specs, who was mopping her brow with a towel he had soaked. She moaned in response and collapsed in a fetal position on the marble tiles. The vomiting had stopped, but she wasn't sure if she was up for eating food anyway.

She felt her limp body being pulled upright against the wall, and peered at the three boys above her. She let out a sigh. "Please let's not put Race in charge of your alcohol again."


	7. Dog Days

**So this is humorous, which is a nice change from my usual crap. I based Buddy off my own choccy lab, George, who is the size of a literal grizzly bear. He's all cuddles though and the worst thing he could do would be sit on you like a chihuahua. Anyway, read on. Reviews are greatly appreciated. **

**Layla**

Jack and Crutchie had taken post in Central Park that morning, hawking at the top of their lungs the headlines of the world. Of course there wasn't really a massacre of thousands outside the patisserie on 53rd, but Jack thought it was a whole lot better than the patisserie's decline in cinnamon rolls.

"That's a bit extreme Jack." Crutchie murmured next to him.

Jack wasn't particularly concerned, and handed out what had to be his 30th paper that morning. "Ah, these times are extreme. How'd you expect me to pay for that big white wedding Katherine's been dreaming about?"

"I guess you're right." The younger boy nodded. "How much have you both got saved already?"

Jack smirked. "We can pay for a cake and rent out two folding chairs."

"I don't know about you Jack, but I think more than two of the boys would like to sit down at your wedding."

"Yeah well then I think that it'll be postponed till we're middle aged, 'cause we don't got that kind of money."

They chuckled and got back to work.

It was at eleven when the two boys sat down on a wooden bench, with two bags of peanuts they had haggled to buy for lunch. They had sold most of their papers, but there seemed to still be a looming weight in their canvas bags, which they had tucked under the bench.

Crutchie was about to empty a handful of peanuts in his mouth when he felt something tug at the bag handle slipped over his ankle.

Confused, he peered down between his calves and found something had made itself at home on his bag.

A chocolate coated dog, a puppy it seemed, was snapping it's jaw at the canvas, like it was its next meal.

Crutchie laughed. "Hey Jack! Take a look who's under the seat."

Jack looked down and frowned. "What's this little guy doing here?"

"I think he's homeless."

Jack got up, Crutchie following behind him. He outstretched his arms and took the puppy, a hand supporting its back and on on its belly and pulled him into his lap, sitting back down. The puppy started to snap at Jack's wrist, yapping in a high pitch.

"He's hungry, poor little guy." Crutchie said. He offered his palm of peanuts. "Here buddy." The puppy sniffed it, and in an instant wolfed it down. "Jack we's can't just leave him here."

"Crutch," Jack began. "The mutt's filthy."

"And what are we, chopped liver?"

"Yeah, ok, but who's gonna take care of it back at the lodge? We's all gotta work everyday, We's hardly ever home."

Crutchie frowned. "Imagine if he was one of us, Jack. All alone and cold on the street. It's starting to get real chilly at night now."

Jack wanted to hit himself looking at Crutchie's big blue eyes. He wasn't going to start crying was he? Instead, Crutchie took the puppy from Jack's arms and stood. "It's ok, buddy. We's can't take you home with us, but I'll show ya a real nice place in the park here. It's next to this big fountain, ya might even nick some bread crumbs from the ducks. But stay clear o those raccoons-"

"Crutchie." Jack sighed. "We's take the dog home, ok?"

The blonde's pout immediately began to fade and was replaced with a beaming smile. "Ya hear that buddy? You's gonna live with us!" The puppy yapped, excited by the commotion.

"Hey, hey, hey! Only for a night yeah?" Jack firmly said.

Crutchie sighed, but he was still overwhelmed that Jack had actually let him take the puppy home.

They had identified the dog from Blink as a chocolate Labrador, whom claimed he had one before he was on the streets.

"They's grow real big," he was saying to the circle of boys who were huddling around the puppy. "My old boy, Comet, grew to be a bear by the time he was two."

"Are they's friendly though?" Finch asked while giving the dog a stroke on its floppy ear.

"Oh yeah, great with kids."

Albert stuck his hand out to pet the dog, in which it stuck it's tongue out and gave him a slobbery lick. "Gross. What's ya name anyway, mutt?"

"He don't have one yet." Crutchie said, before taking the dog in his arms and swaddling him like a small baby. The group followed him from their spot in the entrance hall to the upstairs bunks, where Crutchie let the puppy go into his bunk to sniff around.

"I like Bernice." Smiled Blink.

Jack, whom had joined the group as they ascended up the stairs, whacked him with his hat. "He ain't a girl Blink."

"Well, whatta you think we should call it?"

Jack shrugged. "Something tough. Like, Alphonse."

"Alphonse?" Blink laughed. "That's the worst name I ever heard!"

"It is not!"

"Yeah it is, Jackie boy!"

"Like Kid Blink is a winner!" Jack would have continued with something witty, but was knocked to the floorboards and tackled by Blink.

Blink had his fist raised, about to hit Jack square in the jaw when Crutchie put the dog down to tear them apart.

"It ain't your decision who names it!" Crutchie gritted through his teeth, pulling with all his might on Jack's cotton collar, who had gained the position somehow on top. "I had the idea to bring him home."

Jack was starting to choke and let go reluctantly of Blink's shoulders. "Kid's got a point."

Blink nodded in agreement and brushed his front with his hands. "What'cha gonna name it Crutch?"

Crutchie had to think about it. If he was going to convince Jack to let him keep the dog, he needed a name that was going to never get old. After moments of pondering, he thought back to what he had been referring him as all day.

"Buddy." He said.

"Buddy?" Race, who stood next to Jack, raised his brows.

"Yeah. It's simple, but not bland."

Jack shrugged. "Seems to fit." He took Buddy from the sheets and raised him above, his large hands grasping his brown furry tummy. He brought him back down to eye level and furrowed his brow, a smirk on his lips. "You like that Buddy?"

Buddy licked Jack's nose in response, in which Jack grimaced and spat. "But, God do you need a bath."

They would have bathed Buddy in the small tubs in the Lodge house bathroom, but the water that week had run out the taps green and cloudy, in need of being looked at by a plumber. Jack shouldn't had been so harsh on Buddy's cleanliness, for he and the other newsies hadn't bathed since Sunday evening.

Jack had been the one to suggest the group outing to Katherine's apartment, where they all stood outside hopefully, Buddy in Crutchie's arms.

After a brisk knock on the brass handle, the door creaked open, Katherine in her white silk robe, hair dishevelled, dark circles accumulating under her eyes. It was clear that she wasn't expecting visitors.

She frowned, looking the boys over. "What are you all doing here?"

Jack tried to widen his smile, but it wasn't very affective to her already worn out demeanour. "We's was just wondering if you were home."

"All fifteen of you?"

Jack let out a quiet chuckle. "Well ya see, Ace, baby, Crutchie's got this dog." He stood aside so Katherine could see Buddy, who was asleep in Crutchie's embrace. "We ain't got any safe water to use at the Lodge, and the pup is filthy."

"So are all of you. And you want me to offer my bathroom to aid the cause of the grotty street rats and their pet Lassie?"

Jack sighed, and scratched the back of his head. "Essentially."

Katherine rested her forehead on the door frame and shook her head in disbelief. "Ok, come in."

They followed her through the living room and down the corridor into the bathroom.

"Ok, you aren't all going to fit in here." Said Katherine. "Half of you go sit in the living room and you can take turns."

A clump of the group nodded and then left the bathroom, leaving Finch, Albert, Crutchie, Race, Specs, Blink, Davey and Jack, along with Buddy.

Katherine widened her eyes and buried her face in her palms. "God you all stink."

"Yeah, but I smell better than the rest, huh Ace?" Jack grinned, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. She felt like fainting at the scent of Jack's armpit.

"No, you're the worst Jack." She replied, attempting to hold her breath.

With a heavy push, Jack was sent to the floor.

Crutchie, who was sitting at the edge of the porcelain bath tub, lifted Buddy's floppy ear up and whispered, "Time to wake up, Kathy said you can have a bath in her tub."

Buddy raised his jaws to yawn and nuzzled his snout into Crutchie's forearm.

"Dog first. Then all of you." Ordered Katherine, who had Jack embracing her again, in which she was struggling to get away. "You aren't coming near me until you at least wash yourself with water."

Jack laughed and kissed her cheek, receiving a disgusted wince from her. "You got it, Ace."

They ran the tap until it steamed with heat, which Katherine then placed a plug in the drain, getting the tub full to the brim of boiling water. She saw the look in their eyes, for it wasn't every day that the boys got to bathe in hot water. In their case it was definitely a luxury.

"What'cha grabbing?" Finch asked Katherine as she pulled a large bottle off the shelf next to the medicine cabinet. She raised it so they could see. It was full of lilac gel, and when she popped the cap open, an aroma of violet filled the room.

"Soap. Bubble bath to be exact." She smirked.

"This one's a keeper Jack." Albert grinned. "Marry her and you could be bathin' in bubbles every night."

Katherine rolled her eyes and squirted a generous amount into the water, before plunging her arm in to froth it up. In minutes the tub was overflowing in snowy white foam.

"Who's up first?" Jack said.

"Buddy." They laughed together.

"Alright, but you have to get in with him Crutch, the mutt probably can't stand in that water, never the less actually be able to swim."

In the end, Crutchie, Race, Blink and Jack had shed down to their undergarments, and were in the four man tub all squished together.

Katherine sat on the edge while Specs, Davey, Albert and Finch sat on the tiles waiting for their turn.

She raised an eyebrow while plunging Buddy into the middle of them. "You didn't want to have baths separately?"

Crutchie dowsed Buddy's head with bubbles and smiled. "We don't wanna waste ya time Kathy. Believe me this is enough."

She chuckled. "Ok."

They took turns in lathering Buddy's fur with bubbles and water, until he began to eat the bubbles around him, so they rinsed him and hauled him onto the bath mat.

"Bubbles aren't nutritious for puppy dogs, sweetie." Katherine cooed, bundling him in a towel. "But now you're all clean and you smell lovely. Yes you do." She laughed when he licked her face, and proceeded to towel dry him.

The boys swapped over and Katherine left to get Buddy a snack.

She was chopping up hunks of ham when she felt Jack's damp arms wrap around her middle.

"Hello." He mumbled into her neck. She could feel his hair drip on her shoulders.

"Jack didn't you ever learn that you have to dry your hair after you wash it?" She smirked.

Jack spun her around and hoisted her onto the bench top by her hips. "I'm clean though."

"That's true."

He planted a kiss on her lips and settled his hands high around her ribs. His jaw dropped though when he felt through the silk robe she had wrapped around her.

"You ain't got anything under there, do ya Ace?" He spoke softly, eyes locked with hers.

"Just a night gown." Katherine shrugged. "I wasn't planning to go out, nor have company."

Jack bit his lower lip and ran his palms down her sides, hitching up the bottom of her robe. She was indeed wearing her nightgown, his favourite one she wore by far. The powder pink and black lace drove him crazy just by looking at it slipped over Katherine's creamy skin. A hand slithered up her inner thigh, experimentally and not particularly intended to reach anywhere. However when his fingers brushed her, making her tense, he shifted his jaw and shut his eyes. "You planned taking your panties off though didn't ya?"

Her cheeks flushed pink and she nodded. "I didn't think you'd bathe that quickly. It was going to be punishment for you being dirty."

"Yeah well, now I'm dirty again." He shut her up with a forceful kiss and let his hands start to untie her robe. Katherine pushed him off her though quickly.

"Jack!" She hissed. "Do you recall the last time we tried to get it on around the boys?" Of course she was referring to when little Les Jacobs had stormed in on them on the fire escape a month or so ago.

Jack groaned, but stopped tugging at her clothing. "Fine."

Once everyone had showered, Katherine let them all lounge on her couch, each playing with Buddy in turns.

She was sitting in Jack's lap watching Crutchie and Blink scratch the puppy's belly when she took his jaw in her hands and put her lips to his ear. "You know how I said no before?"

He grew a cocky smile. "Yes."

"Well, I'm reconsidering for later." He beamed brightly and she kissed his cheek. "Stay tonight?"

It didn't even take a thought process. "For sure."


	8. Sickly

**Oh my god. It's another drama chapter. I'm sorry. Forgive me please. Reviews are really nice. **

**-layla**

Jack made an effort all his life not to get sick. It was for his own sake of course, but mostly for the boys at the lodging house. However, no matter how hard he tried to avoid it, sometimes it just happened.

For instance, Jack stood one evening on the outskirts of Central Park trying to sell his last two newspapers. Autumn had rolled in finally after three months of sweltering and stick Summer and the night air had definitely dropped in temperature. Rubbing his palms, Jack tried to create some heat, but he still didn't have a coat, for he'd lent it out to Specs, so it practically did nothing. He had begun to cough as well, which was just another indicator that he was getting sick. After standing for another twenty minutes, harking in a cracked voice, Jack had managed to sell his last two papers to a businessman and his wife. He turned to walk back to the lodging house, but only made it barely a hundred metres before he had to stop. A wave of dizziness swept his body and he collapsed to the pavement. He recalled falling on a corner, what seemed to be between a general store and a peanut stand, before fading away entirely.

Katherine was walking arm in arm with Darcy that night, her body close to his to keep warm. They had left the Sun's building just before and Darcy had insisted on walking her home after the sun had set. He'd vowed that after her recent run in with trouble walking alone after dark, he'd make sure that he, Jack, Bill or one of the newsies would be there to accompany her. Katherine didn't object to this, for she now appreciated the safety these boys brought in her life. They had made a detour at Bonnie's boutique though, for Katherine had gotten the stiletto of her heel caught in a drain, snapping it in two. She didn't protest when Darcy bought her a new pair of blush pink patent pumps, for she knew that they had a long way to walk to her apartment and didn't particularly want Darcy to carry her.

Darcy smirked, looking at an iron grid in the pavement just ahead of them. He took the chance and lifted Katherine by the waist over it, murmuring, "M'lady."

She rolled her eyes. "That was the first time my shoe broke Darcy, don't be annoying."

He chuckled and let her back do wn, taking her arm in his again. "Who says it won't happen another time?"

Katherine kissed him briefly on the cheek. "It's nice to know you care."

Darcy smiled, and dug his other hand in his coat pocket. It had definitely been a shock to hear that his best friend was going to get married, for Darcy had loved her since they were little. He had always admired her boldness growing up, because Darcy was the more timid of the two, the one who had to think rationally. When they were seven, Katherine had been bored listening to him ramble on about some printer, and kissed him full on the mouth to shut him and up. From that moment he knew that Katherine Pulitzer was the girl for him. But then she met Jack Kelly, equally as fiery and rambunctious as her, and he knew he couldn't keep holding onto her. Despite it all, he didn't hate Jack, and Katherine remained his best friend.

"Kitty, I'm glad you're back." He said softly.

She rested her head on his shoulder. "Me too."

They walked in silence until they hit the next crossing, where Katherine had to squint to see what was on the pavement on the other side of the road. A heaped mass was on the side of a peanut vendor, unclear in the darkness.

"Darcy," she tugged on his sleeve. "Do you see that?"

He narrowed his eyes through his wire glasses. "Looks like a person. It's probably just one of the homeless."

She dragged him over the crossing, trying to get a better look. From several metres away, she recognised the ruffled dark hair and eyebrows, and the five o clock shadow that grazed his face, which was pressed harshly against the cement.

"Darcy, that's Jack!" She yelped, running to him.

She rolled his body over with difficulty, until his head was placed in her lap. His eyes were closed, his flesh pale and clammy.

She shook his shoulders roughly. "Jack, get up!"

He began to stir, grunting softly to one side.

"Jack, please, it's Katherine. You need to get up."

She sighed a breath of relief when his eyelids began to flutter, and he slowly looked up to the desperate girl holding his head.

"Ace?" He murmured.

"It's me and Darcy, sweetheart. We've got to get you home, ok? Can you stand?"

He nodded slightly, and got up to his knees, but started to see spots before he got any further.

"Kitty, take his arm. I'll take the other. We'll just have to support him." Darcy said, hoisting Jack's limp arm across his neck. Katherine did the same.

They walked to the lodging house, Jack barely conscious when Katherine and Darcy busted him through the front door.

"Davey, Race," Katherine called to the pair she saw first. "Help me take him up to his bunk.

"What the hell happened Plums?" Race asked before he and Davey took Jack's feet and lead the way up the stairs.

"I don't know. Darcy and I found him passed out on the street. He's barely conscious."

"Shucks," he huffed. "The bastard could at least be awake to walk up the stairs. He weighs a ton."

"Race! Jack could be really hurt!" Katherine scowled.

"Sorry Plums."

They finally reached Jack and Crutchie's room on the top floor and carefully placed Jack on his bottom mattress. Katherine ordered Race and Davey to go bran towels and buckets and Darcy to go get Clara, their nurse trained friend, from her apartment below from Katherine's. Katherine however pulled the thin fleece and cotton covers over Jack before propping him up on his lumpy pillow. She sat on the edge of the bed next to his elbow, waiting for everyone to leave. Once they were gone, she let herself cry softly.

"A-ace." He murmured, flipping back into consciousness. "Quit cryin'."

Katherine dabbed her eyes and turned to him. "It's your fault you big idiot. You scared the hell out of me on that street where we found you. I'm allowed to cry."

Jack started to chuckle, but ended up coughing instead. The raw and raspiness of him hacking into his elbow made her wince. It was only when Darcy returned with Clara and Race and Davey came back did Katherine stop sobbing.

Darcy stood in arm with a young girl, her dirty blonde hair pulled back in a day old bun and her blue eyes scanning the room. It was Clara Mason, Katherine and Darcy's childhood friend.

Clara strode over to the bunk, concern washing her face. "What's the damage here, huh? The first time I get to meet Kitty's man and he's in no state to speak. Annoying really."

Davey raised an eyebrow from the corner of the room. He thought it was rude talking about socialisation while Jack's health was clearly the priority.

Katherine however smiled and hugged her tightly. "Clara, we need your help." She stepped back and regained her seat on the bed, pushing Jack's hair off his forehead. "Darc and I found him collapsed on the street. He's delirious, coughing and pale and-"

Clara stopped her. "Kitty slow down. You're just making yourself more upset. I'll look at him, he'll get better. Just please calm down."

Katherine nodded and sat back down beside Jack.

Clara sat on the other side and felt his forehead. "Has anyone been coughing here? I mean anyone he's been around?"

Davey and Race shook their heads. Race folded his arms and leant back against the wall, "None of the boys have been coughing miss. But Jack's has been racking on for a few days now."

"And it was sudden?"

"Yeah. Came outta no where."

Clara bit her lip, turning to Katherine. "I need to hear his heart. Kitty, can you take his shirt off for me?"

Katherine nodded and braced and arm behind Jack, lifting the hem of his shirt above his head. She could feel the heat radiating off his skin, and she could see it wasn't just his face that was clammy.

Jack mumbled her name, obviously responding to her touch, and it came out almost as a plea.

"I'm right here." Katherine soothed back, combing her fingers through his damp hair. He groaned in response and winced when he felt the the cool metal of Clara's stethoscope hover above his heart. Clara listened for what felt like minutes, but she finally took the buds out of her ear and looked down to her lap.

"What's wrong?" Darcy asked.

She sighed. "He looks certain of pneumonia. There's nothing wrong with his heart, but the coughing and fevers and delirium suggest that he's got a nasty case of it."

"It's curable though ain't it?" Race said quietly, as if not wanting to disturb Jack. "He ain't gonna die tomorrow?"

"He just needs the right treatment. Bed rest, fever reducers, and antibiotics."

"What about the left over stuff my mother kept when I had typhoid. They were fever reducers weren't they?" Said Katherine, genuine concern in her tone.

"They'd work fine. Just don't let him get up and someone needs to keep an eye on him at all times, he's delirious. Some times he'll see things that will make him do some stupid actions." Clara packed up her leather bag and stood, heading for the door. She caught Katherine's hand on the way out however, and smiled. "Calm Kitty, ok? Jack will make it through. Call on me at the hospital if you need any more help ok?"

"Ok."

With that Clara left and the room fell quiet again.

It was later that night when the rest of the boys were in bed, Katherine was still sitting on the edge of the mattress. Jack had become more conscious in the past hour, and with their hands intwined, they softly spoke.

"Clara says you have pneumonia." Katherine said.

Jack, although motionless, furrowed his brows. "Who's Clara?"

"She was the other girl in here before. She's training to be a nurse."

"Oh yeah, she seemed to be in charge. She'd make a nice match for Davey though, he needs someone to dictate him every now and then."

Katherine began to laugh and Jack followed, but began coughing violently instead. She held his back until he hacked everything up into the handkerchief Katherine had given him that was tied around her neck.

The once powder white silk had been flushed in colour of Mucus and now, Katherine saw, was a few splotches of scarlet. Her heart dropped, she knew about people who coughed up blood, and their fates were usually cut short.

"I don't think ya gonna want this back Ace." He muttered.

"Keep it Jack. I don't see any other tissues floating around." She pushed back his hair and planted a kiss on his clammy temple. As much as she hated to admit it, she could feel this temperature had risen.

She murmured into his forehead, "You need to sleep."

"I can't. Once I do, I just cough myself awake again."

"I'll be there if you do, don't worry. I pulled Crutchie's mattress onto the floor, and he's sleeping with the other boys, so I'll be here all the time."

His eyes were glazed when she looked at them, an empty longing for her touch dwelling in the green irises. He whispered hoarsely. "Ok."

She removed the second pillow from behind his head and chucked it on the mattress on the floor. It wasn't really for her comfort, but just so Jack could sleep without getting a sore neck to add to his illness. She watched him close his eyelids, and leaned in to press her lips to his, before murmuring a good night.

The next morning, Katherine had woken early to run to the bagel shop down the street to buy breakfast for everyone. It was sort of her thank you to the boys for letting her stay overnight. With several bags of doughy treats in her arms, she creaked back through the front door, noticing a few of the boys were up and at em' on the staircase.

"Hey Specs, Mush." She smiled, before tossing them both a bagel. "Eat up."

"Thanks Katherine." Specs grinned. The other boys on the next floor had heard the commotion, running down to get their fill. Katherine raised a brow when she noted Spot Conlon amongst them, dressed in a red marled shirt, his thumbs hooked where the straps of his suspenders clipped to his pale trousers.

"You're not a Manhattan Newsie Spot, I can't give you a bagel." Katherine giggled.

"Ah, Angie already made me a sandwich on my way out." He brushed it off and pulled her into a hug.

"I thought Angie was all about women not making their men sandwiches and taking power."

Spot shrugged. "Ain't no goil can resist me Katherine."

She rolled her eyes. "Are you here for Jack?"

"Yeah, words out he's sick. We can't have Jack Kelly, union leader, respected Newsie, bein' sick and all. I'll beat him into shape, don't you worry Katherine."

"I'm glad you're so determined." Katherine lead him upstairs to where Jack was still sleeping in his bunk. They walked into the small room and looked at him from the doorway.

"He's sure got it bad, huh?" Noted Spot. Jack's usually messy hair was unruly, his skin was sullen and beneath his eyes, dark circles had formed. He had the blanket drawn up to his chin, and he was lying on his side, which couldn't have been terribly nice to his lungs.

Katherine crossed her arms and nodded. "I don't know what else to do Spot, I gave him my fever reducers and it just rose even higher. He keeps muttering in his sleep about things that have no context." Her voice had grown quiet, into a slow whisper. "And the coughing Spot, it never ends. At three in the morning he was up hacking up blood. That can't be good can it?"

"You's got a doctor don'cha?"

"My friend. She's a nurse. But she's better than any other doctor in the city I reckon."

"Well then he's gonna be fine." He took her arm and locked his gaze on her own. "Image what'd happen if Jack had never met ya and he got sick like this. Hell, if he was back in the refuge, he'd be good for dead."

At the name of the refuge, Jack began stir. It was a big thing that Katherine had noticed he'd mutter about. In his bed, she noticed him struggle under the sheets, his cries getting louder.

"Jack," she hushed as she came to his side. "It's ok. You're here with me."

"Get away from me!" He gasped. Katherine didn't believe him, this wasn't like Jack at all. He got his arms free and like death, clenched the mattress, as if he was trying to avoid her at all costs.

"Jack it's me, Katherine." She tried, but Jack had a hand raised already and before she could blink, it collided forcefully with her cheek.

"Katherine!" Spot called, running to her as she fell back on the floor. "You ok?"

Katherine couldn't take her eyes off Jack, who seemed to be starting to realise who he had just hit.

"K-Katherine?"

She nodded, her eyes beginning to water.

He seemed to be coming out of it, and returning to his normal state. "I-I didn't...you weren't there. Katherine I swear..." She didn't say anything however, she just continued to stare, scared perhaps, Spot holding her middle, equally as confused to Jack's outbreak.

It was the next evening when Clara came back around to the lodging house. Katherine had called her back over, afraid that Jack would have another outbreak.

They sat close to Jack's sleeping figure under his covers, watching him and conversing quietly together.

"He hit you?" Clara whispered.

"He seemed like he didn't know it was me he was hitting. It was like he was in a trance." Katherine replied. "Does pneumonia have those kinds of signs and symptoms?"

"Sometimes. He sounds like he's having delusions. Sometimes they'll be stronger than others. Like when hit you, that was probably one strong enough that he was physically seeing you as someone else."

Katherine shut her eyes and sighed heavily. "I hate this."

"It's never fun."

"The moment I recover, Jack falls deathly ill. Don't we get to be happy?"

Taking Katherine's hand, Clara smiled warmly. "He'll recover soon. Give him a couple of weeks or so and he'll be back on his feet." She grinned. "And able to go get a blessing out of your father so you both can finally tie the knot."

Katherine, despite being upset, laughed. "Finally? It's only been a few months Clara!"

"Few months too long. You know, when most couples get engage, they have their weddings in a month at the maximum."

"Yeah, well maybe we want to plan for a bit, so it will end up being the best damn wedding New York City's ever seen."

"Alright, but I'm going to hold you on that one then."

Katherine chuckled. "It's a deal."

Three weeks later, Jack Kelly was propped upright in his bunk, Katherine sitting beside him. He'd been through what seemed like an eternity of coughing and choking, nightmares and overall discomfort. But the doctor's miracle drugs had worked incredibly well, alongside Clara's constant assistance and not to forget Katherine's worrying. She smirked at him from the edge of the bed, raising the soup filled spoon to his mouth from the bowl she was holding.

"Eat Kelly." She ordered.

Jack shook his head, his mouth forming a hard line. "I ain't eating that. Angie made it."

"And what's wrong with Angie's cooking?"

"Everything. She has no skill or idea about what goes with what. Spot swears she threw Blink's eye on her pot once and served it to the Brooklyn boys."

Katherine rolled her eyes. Although almost recovered from severe pneumonia, Jack was still as stubborn as he was when he was healthy. "I think that's a load of bullshit."

"Language Miss Pulitzer, my goodness." He was just as sassy too.

She stuck her tongue out before turning the spoon to herself. Jack was right to have avoided it, the soup was hardly edible. It tasted initially of pea and mint, then later started to turn into the sweetness of that fairy floss you'd get at Coney Island. It was gut wrenching.

"Ok, that's enough of that." She said and put the bowl on the ground. "I'll make you something later. What do you feel like?"

He closed his eyes and smiled. "You."

"You're supposed to be sick with pneumonia. You can't have me Jack." She scowled and lightly pushed his head back into his pillows.

"Eh, I tried." Jack laced his hand in her own and kissed her knuckles tenderly. "I'm a big taker for ya kid sister's red velvet cupcakes though."

She giggled, her lips finding their place on his own. "I'll let Connie know she needs to start baking. In the mean time you need to sleep, Jack. You're gonna need strength of you're gonna come back to mine tomorrow." She smirked and turned to leave.

"Whad'ya mean tomorrow Ace? Aw, don't be like that! Come back! I'm a sick man for gods sake!" He was calling from his bed loudly, but Katherine played him off with the flick of her wrist and the sway of her hip. He had no idea what he had done to deserve someone so Cruel.


	9. Feel blessed

**Long awaited chapter. I'm sorry. Next one is almost done though. Reviews give me life like b ball gives life to my immigrant father. Don't ask. **

**Layla**

Jack woke in Katherine's bed startled, his eyes wide and subconsciously aware of what he had to do that day. It had been bugging him for weeks, and he had forced himself to make sure that today was the day that he would go and get a blessing from Pulitzer to marry Katherine.

Katherine was still asleep however, not disturbed by Jack's sudden movement. He wanted to laugh when her saw her cheek pressed up against his chest, her lips softly pouted and her hair a chocolate tangle of loose curls. It was so unbelievably his Katherine. Jack tried to pry her off him carefully, in his best interest not to wake her. She slept like the dead, which in this situation, he found extremely convenient.

Once he was up and free, he headed to her kitchen and began pulling things from the cabinets. With two mugs on the counter, he fixed a pitcher of coffee, adding a slosh of condensed milk into one mug, for he knew Katherine hated the bitterness. He however kept his own black, just the way he preferred it. There was nothing more like a kick in the ass to go consult your girl's father like a straight mug of coffee.

When Jack returned with both mugs carefully in his hand, Katherine was sprawled out and claiming back the mattress as her own, still fast asleep.

He chuckled and set the mugs down on the bedside table.

"Ace," he whispered, sitting down and raking his fingers through her curls. "Wake up sweetheart."

She cooed something into the sheets, which oddly reminded Jack of a pigeon. "Ace, come on, it's already eight, I's 'sposed to be outta here before seven." The girl got up reluctantly, a frown on her face which she rubbed in her hands tiredly. "Mornin' gorgeous."

Katherine peaked through her fingers. "Good morning."

"Made ya coffee. Made it sweet too."

She broke into a smile and kissed his lips softly. "Thank you. I'm just grumpy in the morning."

Jack scoffed. "I can tell."

"Aren't you supposed to be selling this morning Jack?"

"Not today. I, ah, kinda got somebody I's gotta go see."

She didn't even look up from her mug, which she had begun drinking from. "Is that someone my father?"

"Ya caught me."

"You know he's going to say no, Jack. Why don't we just go and do it? If my own father doesn't want to support me, he doesn't have to be there."

Jack could see her point, but it still didn't feel right. The least he could do for her family was ask for their permission. He didn't want to come off as even more of a street rat that had ripped their daughter from them.

Jack sighed. "I know sweetheart, but it's the right thing to do."

"Right thing my ass. He's just going fire you down the minute you walk in."

"My god has you's gotten feisty. My Irish tongue's got an influence on ya I think." He chuckled and kissed her lips again, relishing the peace before he would have to endure the soon coming hell.

Jack stood outside Pulitzer's office for the third time in his life that morning. The first being the strike, where he had confidently stormed in and demanded the boy's rights, and the second where he had pleaded for help when Katherine had been abducted. However, those two times had never required him to wear his cleanest shirt and pants that had been ironed by a hot pot he'd found in the lodge house kitchen and his hair had never had to be smoothed down with the oil that he borrowed from Romeo.

Hannah, Pulitzer's secretary, eyes him from behind her desk. "Mr. Pulitzer won't be a minute. But I'd ask if maybe you'd take a seat Mr. Kelly."

The large maple panelled doors clicked behind him and there stood another secretary, his head peeking through the gap. "That won't be necessary Hannah. Mr. Pulitzer is available at the present. If you'd follow me in, sir."

Jack took a deep breath and nodded. What had he gotten himself into?

When Jack passed through the door, he saw Pulitzer behind his desk, seated and looking down at a newspaper. As always he was completely ignorant to Jack's presence. Jack cleared his throat. "Ah, Mr. Pulitzer, sir?"

Pulitzer only raised his eyes above the glasses perched on the bridge of his nose. "Mr. Kelly." He put down the paper and hunched over the desk, which made Jack want to run."Do you know what's worse than when the Sun is making more money than your own paper?" Jack shook his head. "When your own daughter and son work for the Sun, and are making them earn more money."

Jack had no idea how this was relevant to him or why Pulitzer was telling him this, so he muttered an, "Ok.", And shifted backwards a little. He felt like the confidence he had when he came in had slightly dwindled to the floor.

"What was it that you came here for, Mr. Kelly?" Pulitzer sighed.

Jack's face drained of colour and his heart felt like it had plummeted to the carpet. Was this really a good idea? Was marrying Katherine worth all this trouble and fear? He shook his head mentally, and scowled at himself. Of course it was worth it, Katherine would be his wife after all. With a deep breath, he aligned his stance taller and raised his chin. "Mr. Pulitzer I'd like to ask for ya permission to marry Katherine." It all came out as one word, with hardly the effect that he had been aiming for.

"You want what?" Pulitzer looked like he had gotten the gist of what he was saying though, for he coldly glared and his knuckles turned white, gripping the desk furiously.

"I'd like to marry your daughter." Repeated Jack. "She wishes just as much as I do that you'll give us your blessing."

Pulitzer stared for what seemed like an eternity, before doing the unlikely. He let out a soft and low chuckle which in all honesty, frightened Jack to death. He didn't know the man could show any sign of amusement. "You want to marry my daughter?"

"Yes sir. I do. Is their something I'm missing here?"

Pulitzer shook his head and sighed. "Nothing Mr. Kelly. It's just I'm surprised you even asked me. I mean you and Katherine practically live together already. The amount of times I've called and she claims to be with you, or when I drop by and her bedroom is littered with your belongings."

Jack felt his face grow hot and red. "Well, ah-"

"No, no. I'm glad you came to me. You'd make me think of you as more of a low life than you already are if you didn't. But I want to know, why do you want to marry my daughter?"

Jack shoved his hands in his pocket and looked the man before him straight in the eye. "It's cause I love her. I have ever since I tried to sell her that paper before the strike. I's wanna make her happy, feel loved always. I know I ain't got much to give her like all the men you and your wife try to set her up with, but I's got enough love to compromise for that." Pulitzer had his eyes narrowed, which urged Jack to continue. "Ya see, before Katherine, I's only had girls on the side because they were just there, low maintenance and available. But then I met Katherine, and everything was different. She's more than just a pretty face, she's smart and funny, she's independent and compassionate. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have her in my life."

Jack closed his mouth, sure that he'd said enough, and watched Pulitzer in thought behind his desk. After what seemed like an eternity, the older man stopped drumming his fingers on the wooden surface and resided them to his beard.

He flicked his eyes towards Jack. "You can marry my daughter, Mr. Kelly."

Jack didn't believe what he was hearing, in fact he had to ask Pulitzer to repeat himself. "Sorry?"

"You can marry my daughter." His words were slow and Jack swore he could see a slight smile on his face.

"Ya mean it?"

"Yes. Do you want me to repeat it another time?" His tone was cold again.

"No, sorry sir. Ah, thank you Mr. Pulitzer." Jack stumbled over to shake his hand, which Pulitzer reluctantly accepted.

"Now get out of my office before I change my mind." He sighed, and Jack was out like a flash.

"Hey, Katherine?" Jack called, walking through her front door. " You home?"

"I'm in here, Jack!" She called from the kitchen.

He followed her voice and found her against the stove, stirring something in a pot that smelled incredible.

"What's that?" He asked, embracing her from behind and kissing her jaw.

"Just spaghetti bolognaise." She replied, turning up the heat on the stove dial.

"Did you make enough for two?"

Katherine smirked. "I might have."

She had indeed, for Jack noted a bubbling pot of pasta on the other grill, which she later strained, serving two bowls for them both.

When they each pulled out a chair from the small table, Jack took a mouthful and rolled his eyes back, moaning in delight of Katherine's cooking.

"Like it?" She smiled, resting her chin on her fist.

"It's amazing. What'cha put in it? Cause Davey's ma makes a mean Spag Bol, but this, this is so different."

"Tabasco."

"You's put Tabasco in ya Spag Bol? Christ Katherine that's good." They are the rest of their meal with small talk, Jack wolfing his bowl down, while Katherine watched bemused across the table.

Jack hovered his fork briefly at his mouth, and smiled. "So, Ace, when are we's gonna start dishin' out invitations for the big day."

"What?" Katherine asked, puzzled.

"Well, I went to see your old man today, and let's just say things went well."

"Jack, you don't mean, I mean, he-" she stopped herself and broke into a grin. "My father said yes?"

Jack nodded smugly, proud of his achievement.

"Jack!" She got up and climbed onto his lap, embracing his neck. "We're going to get married."

"Tell me about it." He chuckled. Kissing her lips, Jack brought his palms to her jaw line and held his gaze against Katherine's. "I love you."

Her long, dark lashes fluttered, like she was blinking back tears. "I love you too Jack." She nuzzled her forehead into the crook of her neck, content and smiling.

"Ace?" Murmured Jack after a silence.

"Yes, Jack?"

"You's were gonna marry me even if your daddy said no, right?"

Katherine looked up slowly, beaming. "Jack Kelly, there wouldn't be a thing in this world that would stop me from becoming your Mrs. Kelly. Especially my father."

Jack hoisted her up onto his hips, before standing to take her to the bedroom. He stopped at the doorway, and pressed his forehead against hers. "I guess the lights gone green then, huh?"


	10. The Party Scene

**I have nothing to say. Read on. reviews give me strength to move on from the raging storm** **inside** **my soul. Much love.**

**layla **

In all of the places Jack pictured he'd end up being at, he never thought it would be at the bottom of the stairwell in the Pulitzer mansion, surrounded by sophisticated chatter and violins. He had never asked for an engagement party, and he felt like it was Pulitzer punishing him for asking to marry Katherine. He was there though, which was the main thing, waiting for Katherine to make her entrance down the stairs.

"Jack!" Called a voice behind him, which he soon found to be Georgia, followed by Maggie, Katherine's two younger sisters. "There you are."

"Hey girls," he smiled. "You got any updates for me on Katherine? I can't take this party scene alone any longer."

Maggie rolled her eyes. "Typical. And yes, she told me that she wouldn't be long. I think our father went to go give her an engagement gift."

"Aren't engagement gifts supposed to be, ya know, for the couple engaged?"

"This is Joseph Pulitzer we're talking about. He hates your guts and would rather pull his own eyeballs out than call you his son in law, don't expect a gift." Maggie swiped a flute of champagne off a tray of a passing waiter and handed it to Jack.

"What the hell is this?" He murmured, the tiny rose coloured bubbles mesmerising him.

Georgia snorted. "Champagne. God, I bet you and those boys have never touched a drink of anything other than hard liquor in your life."

"That ain't true." He retorted. "We's also got seltzer."

"Well this is classy, and so is our sister, so conform."

Jack raised his hands in defence, proceeding to sip from the brim of the glass. He would have relished the flavour if something at the top of the stairwell hadn't glinted in the corner of his eye.

Katherine descended the staircase slowly, her posture straight as a ballerina with her arm supporting her on the railing. A glimmering champagne gown clung to her figure, the beadwork iridescent in the light of the chandelier. She looked to Jack first and smiled a little, which Jack replied with a heart winning grin. He noticed her hand travelling to her bare collar, where a necklace of what looked like a spiderweb of diamonds and hung. Dangling from the centre, a large heart cut stone of what had to be ruby hovered over the crevice of her chest. He'd never seen Katherine wear it before. It had to had been a gift, her father's probably. A necklace like that must have costed thousands, thousands that Katherine would never waste while her rent and groceries and friends in poverty were still in the picture. As she reached the bottom step, she held a hand out for Jack to take, which he followed in an instant, taking a brief second to kiss it tenderly. Even though everybody's eyes were fixed upon them, they both felt like they were alone, like they were back in the comforts of her apartment, or the rooftop of the lodging house.

"Evenin' Ace." Jack murmured under his breath.

Katherine was just as quiet. "Same to you Kelly." She would have said something witty to follow if she hadn't heard her father clear his throat from the front of the crowd.

"My daughter, everyone." He announced bluntly. "And her fiancée, Mr. Jack Kelly." Pulitzer practically sighed Jack's name in agitation.

Although he had been cleaned up nicely by the help of Katherine, Clara and Davey back home, Pulitzer's guest eyed him like he was a slab of meat. Some were looking to Katherine in disbelief, but most had their eyes narrowed disapprovingly at Jack. He would have probably got down and dug a hole for himself in the polished floorboards if Katherine hadn't taken charge.

"Jack and I both would like to say that we're thankful for everyone's company tonight and their support in our engagement. We're so glad you could make it." If her dazzling grin wasn't selling it, it was her hands that sold it to them, one attached to his hip and the other firm on his chest. Jack could see she was playing them like a fiddle.

As the night proceeded, Jack kept finding himself running back to the champagne table. He was hopeful that if all the minimal alcohol in the glasses would add up, he'd end up feeling numb and oblivious of the wild socialite party scene. He was reaching for what had to be his thirteenth glass, when he felt a hand halt his own. Katherine stood beside him, a smile curling on her lip.

"Believe me, champagne does nothing." She whispered.

"How do you do it? Parties like this I mean."

Katherine led him over to a bench against the wall, sitting and lacing her fingers in his. "Years of practice. You start to blur everything out without the liquor after a while." She paused and let her head drop softly on his shoulder. "Thank you for putting up with me Jack."

Jack scoffed. "You? You ain't tied down to these lot."

"You don't think so?"

"No. You's your own person Katherine, your family doesn't make the decision where you end up." Jack kissed her temple softly. "Aren't people going to wonder where we are?"

She shook her head. "Probably in the first hour they would. There's enough booze and gossip to go round that they don't care anymore."

"Let's scram then. You and me. We'll go back to the lodging house, spend the night on the roof."

Katherine liked the sound of his idea, and she pulled his arms up as she stood. "I've got to go put something a little more casual then. And get rid of this stupid necklace."

Katherine lead him upstairs to her old bedroom, quiet enough to not disturb anyone and alert their disappearance. If Jack had thought her apartment was grand, her old childhood room was a palace. Ceiling to floor sized windows aligned the wall, with French doors in the centre that out looked onto a balcony. The room spanned widely and was illuminated by a crystal chandelier, only a fraction smaller than the one in the main hall.

Jack tailed her as she went to her vanity and sat down on the plush stool.

"Jack," said Katherine "Unclasp my necklace for me will you?"

With still and steady fingers he did so and immediately figured out why she had wanted it off. The necklace was like lead with its clusters of diamonds and gold, and he was sure that the ruby pendant had something to do with it as well. "Christ, I'm surprised you weren't breakin' a sweat." He murmured. There was a clink and the necklace separated, where Katherine placed it in a velvet lined jewellery box.

"Pretty. But impractical." She sighed.

"Not at all you any how. You's are pretty and practical." He offered back.

Katherine felt his hands fit around her middle, guiding her to stand to his height. Through the vanity mirror, she saw Jack and herself briefly, a kiss being planted on her neck and her hand curling up to his own. Together they appeared solid, free of any cracks and splinters that would break them apart.

Jack brushed his lips against her ear. "You's sure nobody cares where we are, Ace?"

She smirked. "I thought we were going to the lodge house, Jack."

"We are, just makin' a detour that's all. Now answer me."

"I'm sure as sure. Relax." She felt his hands slowly ease down to the zipper aligned on her spine that was keeping the dress together. Jack was definitely going to change that. In minutes, the gown became loose and was peeled off before crumpled to the floor. Instead of her usual chemise that Jack was used to seeing her in, Katherine had donned a satin corset that looked terribly uncomfortable on her. She looked over her shoulder and raised her brow. "What's wrong?"

"Nothin'" Jack said before chuckling. "Can you breathe in that thing?"

"Hey, I never made the expected standards for women's fashion. If it were up to me I'd go without anything. Now come on, I know I said they don't care, but they will if we take all night." Once again, Katherine's fiery side had taken control and Jack had found himself hurriedly untying the laces from her corset. Finally free of the horrid thing, Jack tugged her over to the other side of the room, where a king sized bed, dressed in the same silks as the ones in her apartment, sat waiting for the two to crash on together.

On her back, Katherine realised that the boy hovering above her was far too clothed for her liking, so she began prying at the buttons of his shirt. He guided her with his own fingers until it slid off his shoulders and she was onto his belt. In moments, they had discarded all their clothing to a pile on the floor in a fit of haste and hurry and were tangled limb in limb.

"How long is this detour going to be, Jack?" Katherine breathed as he devoured her neck with his kisses.

He laughed. "How long were you hoping for?"

"The whole party." She replied hopefully.

Jack laughed harder, his voice vibrating against her flesh. "What my girl wants, my girl gets." He trailed his kisses down to her hip line, where he paused and caressed her thigh. It was like a call for her reassurance to keep going, which Katherine hinted and nodded once.

The sudden clash of temperatures between Jack's mouth and her heated centre made her bite her bottom lip. She had to clutch the quilt cover beneath them to steady herself, for she feared at the rate he was going she would probably end up on the floor. With slow strokes, Jack's tongue traced her up and down.

"J-Jack!" gasped Katherine, feeling him draw his attention to her clitoris. Without command, her hips raised themselves as if they could be any closer to Jack's mouth.

"Stay still, Ace." He chuckled, which she noted and felt instantly against her wetness. "Yous'll thank me, I promise." Without warning Jack bit down on her gently and produced his middle and index finger to rub against her opening. She squirmed even harder, her back arching and

her head pressing further into the pillows. Slowly and carefully, his fingers slid themselves in and began curling as they were dragged in and out. He kept going with his mouth and hand while she watched from above, her hands gone from the sheets to being woven into his dark hair. He knew what he was doing, it was obvious. However, he had never done this with Katherine before, so their must have been others before her that had sharpened his skills. The thought didn't bother her, she was aware that Jack had probably gotten with almost every girl in the lone area of Manhattan. Katherine knew that he'd stopped all of it when he'd met her though, he'd even proposed to her if that didn't say he changed enough. Still it made her wonder if she was at all up to his standards like the others were in terms of her ability in bed.

It wasn't too soon before Katherine felt her self clench tightly and her breaths becoming desperate, in which she felt as if she were melting into the sheets. She let out a cry and Jack stopped, aware of her long awaited release and kissed her inner thigh with a warm grin. He made his way back up to where she was resting on the pillows and hovered himself over her body.

"You're glowing." He mused.

Katherine giggled. "I'd be pretty pathetic if I wasn't." She paused and pressed her forehead against his. "You've done that before, haven't you Jack?"

Jack drifted his gaze to her collarbone and sighed. "Yeah, I have."

"A lot?"

"A lot, yeah. But that don't hold anything against me, does it Katherine?"

"Of course not. Unless you think I don't hold a candle to any of the girls of your past."

Jack hinted the playfulness in her tone and laughed, kissing her lips. "You're beyond incredible."

"So, does that mean you're up now?" She smirked. "I mean, I got plenty of my fair share just then. "

"How's about you and I wait for the rooftop, huh? Then you can give me the other end of the bargain." He bit his lip and chuckled before moving closer to whisper in her ear. "Plus I hear it's real somethin' to make love under the moon."

"Jack!" She laughed and swatted his chest which he just returned with an equally as jovial kiss to her lips.


	11. Time of the Moon

**I'm honestly so sorry for the late update, I've just been super busy. I got castes for the lead in my school's production which is super cool, and I've got auditions coming up for another production soon. But I dunno, this was just another one of those odd thoughts I got in the shower one time. Enjoy. Reviews give me joy. Like honestly.**

**Layla**

Jack rapped his fist on Katherine's front door sharply that morning with his arms bearing gifts. He'd thought he'd be the gentleman after his rounds of selling, to bring Katherine a paper, a bagel and a small sprig of scarlet roses he had hacked from one of the garden beds in Central Park. It was his warm and sunny good morning to the woman he loved in his own way.

However that wasn't how it all played out.

"I'm coming!" A tired yell called from behind the door. Katherine peaked through the heavy timber seconds later, looking agitated and worn out and by the looks only dressed in her chemise and silk dressing gown. "Jack? What are you doing here?"

"I came ta give you these. And say good morning because I love you." He leaned in to kiss her, but Katherine stepped out of his firing line and just rubbed her temple. "Look Jack, I appreciate that you're doing this but I'm a little pre occupied this morning."

"With what?"

"My mother is over, we're choosing my wedding dress. And it's really just a female thing so-"

Jack had already begun walking into the apartment and hung his hat up on the hook by the door, as well as placing Katherine's things on the stool beneath it. "I'd love to see it sweetheart." He strode into the living room in which he could feel daggers shooting into his back as he went to greet Marie Pulitzer.

She sat with her legs crossed on the couch, elegantly attired as usual, with an array of scrap books and material spread over the coffee table. In the corner, a clothes rack of white gowns stood.

"Mrs. Pulitzer," Jack nodded to her. "You's don't mind if I sit in with you and Katherine for a while? I start selling my next round in an hour, so I 's got some time to kill."

"Of course not! Katherine and I could use the help, she's very fussy when it comes to these things. Aren't you darling?" Marie turned to Katherine who stood in the doorway, her arms folded and a thin line forming on her lips. She didn't look happy to Jack at all.

"Yes mama." Grumbled Katherine.

After half an hour of trying on dresses and matching fabrics, Jack felt that he deserved to know what was bugging Katherine.

He decided to come behind her when she was slipping on one of the gowns and Marie had gone to the kitchen to get Katherine water.

"What'sa matter with you today?"he murmured into her neck. "You's all grouchy."

Katherine craned herself away from Jack as far as she could and groaned loudly. "I'm not grouchy, leave me alone."

He scoffed. "That's not grouchy?"

"I said leave me alone Jack!" She practically yelled, which made Jack recluse a little. She paused and looked to the floor before mumbling something inaudible.

"What was that?" Asked Jack, raising an eyebrow.

Katherine rolled her eyes and sighed, hissing, "I'm on my period."

Jack immediately felt dumb and he realised that he hadn't been picking up the hints at all. Her moodiness, her attitude, her disgust for any affection. It all added up to the logical reason of premenstrual syndrome. He had never seen her show signs of it ever before, maybe it was a new thing. But with little information Jack knew about girls, he still knew that they had their time of the month and that sometimes it could be a living nightmare to be around, and that if he wanted to meet her at the altar alive, he should steer clear of her way until it blew over.

"Oh," he said. "My bad. You, ah, want me to give you some space for a bit?"

Katherine frowned and placed her palm on his bicep reassuringly. "Jack, I'm fine. It's not anything serious, you don't have to avoid me for four days every month." She caught her already drooping dress from falling and pulled the sleeves back around her shoulders. "Can you do up the buttons on the back?"

He smiled and proceeded to do so after sweeping her long chocolatey curls over her shoulder so he could see what he was doing. On the last button he nudged her jaw with his nose to tell her to look up at her reflection. Her gown, unlike the others she had tried on, wasn't as structured and felt so much silkier on the skin. Short scallops of lace slipped off her shoulders which were held on by the satin bodice that hugged her curves. The skirt belled out in multiple layers, each adorned with tiny crystals. It reminded Jack of the white roses that Medda adorned her theatre with. He had helped her out once or twice by spritzing them with water when they had begun to turn wilted and yellow. "I like this one." Jack murmured. "It's real pretty."

"I guess we've found a dress then. Finally."

Jack had left Katherine's earlier, heading to Jacobi's for lunch with some of the newsies and then retreating back home after what they thought was a good solid hour of selling. They all were sitting around the front entrance, where some opted for the few chairs and the rest sat on the stairs and floor, newspapers in hand to discuss their tactics of how they sold the day's headline.

"So how many did ya sell Romeo?" Race sighed from behind his paper, not bothering to look up. It had seemed that his tactics of wooing the girls who came out of the girl's school in the upper east side hadn't succeeded. With bruises patching on his nose and cheek, he seemed utterly done with women collectively.

"All hundred I bought Racey. You can say that I am definitely the ladies' choice at Bratwurst's college for girls." Romeo grinned from ear to ear proudly, knowing that he for well successful once again in his usual tricks with girls.

"Romeo, the girls in that place are all at least twenty." Jack said from the armchair disapprovingly. "You's'd never have a chance in a million years to get in one of their dorms."

The younger boy sighed. "But they's are so damn gorgeous. Every one of em."

Jack thought about it for a moment and then nodded smugly. "That's damn true kid. Did I ever tell you bout the time Maddy Giorgio took me to her room when I sold her a pape for free?"

There were loud calls from the rest of the boys calling him wrong specifically with, "Bullshit Kelly!" and "Bratwurst girls wouldn't pull me and you think your drunk Irish ass would?"

"Hey, hey, hey!" Barked Jack as he hushed the commotion. "Would ya let me get back to my story? So I'm there with Maddy Giorgio on that carpeted stairwell they got in the building. She keeps leading me up until we get to her dorm which she shares with this other dame, but she's fallen asleep already and is facing the wall in her bed."

Albert rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but did ya do it Jackie?"

"I'm gettin' there ok? Keep ya pants on."

"By the sound of it you didn't." Finch muttered, earning numerous giggles across the room.

"Hey, I said shut up, huh? So I'm in her dorm and the other prep is asleep. Maddy takes the liberty to climb up my body like a cat and push me onto her bed. She starts attacking me with her mouth and ripping off my clothes even before I got to even close the damn door." He started to chuckle, recollecting the memory. "I didn't even get to take her own clothes off, she just brought a hand to her blouse and and tore it off."

The boys surrounding Jack had gained more interest and to him it seemed like they were rapidly closing in, eyes waiting and heads poised.

Jack continued with a sigh, thinking about how to phrase himself. His hands seemed easier to describe the situation so he raised them to chest height and feigned what looked like he was cupping melons. "Now this Maddy Giorgio has the biggest rack I've ever seen-"

"Who had the biggest rack you've ever seen Jack?" Katherine stood in front of the door with her arms folded and a brow arched. She must have come in when the boys were listening because no one had noticed her presence at all.

Jack turned around, dumbfounded and mortified. "Uh, Ace, haha, what'cha doin' here? I was not expecting you." His eyes flicked to the floor and he muttered under his breath, "Shit."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm here because you left your stupid hat at my apartment." With a heavy throw she chucked the floppy grey cap at his chest. "You need to learn to look after your belongings Jack."

"Yeah, sure. I'm sorry babe-"

She held up her hand. "Just leave it. I'll be at my apartment if you remember that you forgot anything else. Or if you want to bring one the girls you screwed over and three of us can have dinner together." With grit of her teeth, Katherine spun on her heel and left, leaving Jack with his lower jaw dropped slightly.

"You just got topped by your girlfriend." Marvelled Specs with a grin.

Jack stared at where Katherine had stood and shifted his jaw. "Damn right I did."

" Hey, Jackie," said Finch from behind him. "What's Kathy's damage, huh?"

"Nothin. Just that time of the month."

"Laundry day?"

"What? No, Finch." Jack spun around with his face scrunched up in confusion.

"She's on her period Finch." Sighed Davey.

"Her what?" Finch was even more confused.

"Her period." Repeating himself did nothing though, for Finch still hadn't caught on, and neither did the majority of the boys in the room by the looks of their blank expressions and whispering to one another. "Do you guys honestly have no idea what I'm talking about?" Some shook their heads while some shrugged.

Jack stepped in to help Davey, taking in a breath and stuffing his fists in his pocket. "Okay. I'm only gonna explain this to you's once, so listen up good." He cleared his throat. "Y'see when a girl has her 'time of the month', she ah...ah, how do I put this? Oh, ok lemme try this. You all know what a uterus is right?"

"A ute- what now?" Race squinted at Jack, looking lost as ever.

"A uterus. It's like, what houses a baby, when a girl's expecting. Anyway, think of the uterus as if they were waiting for someone to come and stay, and they've made the place all nice and comfy y'know? But, this someone, they ain't turned up at all, and the uterus gets mad, like real mad. Start's destroying everything they made for this someone, and like it's just an awful mess. So they's gotta get rid of it, huh? The mess I mean. So that's where periods come in. Blood is all that mess that the uterus needs to get rid of-"

"Whoa, blood?" Exclaimed Finch, horrified. "You's makin' it sound like Kathy's gonna die!"

"She ain't gonna die Finch, it's just what girls do. It's their way of knowing they ain't gonna have a baby yet."

"So Kathy could stop having periods if she wanted to?" Asked Romeo.

Jack sighed. "Yeah, I guess. She'd have to get knocked up though." He paused and look to the floor, the boys seeing him now mortified. "I'd have to knock her up. God boys, lemme at least marry the girl first!"

Specs, cross legged now on the floor, groaned painfully. "Why are girls so complex?"

Jack let out a matching groan in reply. "You can say that again."

Jack rapped on Katherine's door again that afternoon, full of regret, but mostly fear that she'd snap at him again. But he felt he had to do it, he at least could apologise.

"Ace, honey?" He said, his cheek pressed up against the door. "It's Jack. You home?"

"Be there in a minute, Jack." It was like music to his ears, when he hinted her tone as her usual sweet, soft one. There was a creak and she opened the heavy timber, dressed again like she had been that morning. She must have come home and just changed back into her silk robe. "Hey." She greeted softly. If anything Katherine looked sleepy. Perhaps she had exhausted herself out with all her grouchiness, Jack thought.

"You's gonna kiss me now, or are ya too high strung for that still?" He smirked, leaning on the door frame.

"Come here," she chuckled back before grasping his collar to crush her lips to his, all the while pulling him into her apartment. They ended up crashing blindly on the couch, too caught up in each other's lips and short giggles to be really concerned though. When Katherine felt Jack's rough hands begin to linger over the tie pulled around her waist, she squirmed out of his grip, and hoisted herself over, so her hips sat square to his chest. "You idiot," she began to laugh. "We've literally spent the day experiencing the wrath of my uterus and you want to go at it?" She raised her brows and in an almost hushed tone continued. "My vagina is literally killing itself on repeat."

Jack laughed with her, raising his palms in defence. "Call it a blank of memory."

"Only if you rub my back and make me tea."

"Ya got it princess."

Later on, Katherine and Jack were in her bed, talking occasionally but not saying anything particularly meaningful. It was the kind of state between awake and asleep that you feel in the early hours of the morning, when something wakes you and your best interest is sleep, but of course it doesn't occur.

"How do ya reckon Davey and Clara are gonna hit it off, Ace?" Jack yawned. His arm shuffled its way across her shoulders, which she leaned back into.

"I'm hoping they dance at our wedding. I don't think they see it, but they're both so alike," Katherine replied. "They're bound to find a liking to one another some way or rather."

"That's good. Davey needs someone to converse with other than us, the boys and his own family. Kid's gonna be a lawyer in a year or so, y'know?"

"So he could assist us in a divorce then?"

Jack had hinted her joke and with a drop of his jaw, seized her middle, tickling her until she began to tear from laughing. "Can't get away from me that easy. I's got ya this far, ya can't run now."

"I'm kidding, Jack! I'm kidding! Stop tick-" she caught her breath finally and managed to keep his hands still. "Tickling me!"

Jack rolled her over, so he hovered inches away from her face. "You are so in love with me." He let the corners of his lips raise a little, before pressing them down onto hers.

Katherine pulled away and whispered, "Better believe it Kelly."

"I do, Ace. I honestly do."


	12. Author Note

Cheries, I have not given up on this story! I'm still working on some chapters but I was typing the last one on my phone and that was stolen a while ago. I've gotten it back, it was some stupid rat in the grade below me in my school who thought it would be a good idea to make me freak out for a while. Like literally everything was on there, even some of my really private photos between my friends and my family as well as a lot of the chapters for my other stories(hint hint Harley Quinn and Joker), so yeah it was a bummer. But it's back and I'm almost finished the next chapter so I hope that you havent lost faith in me. I love this story like its my child(FORESHADOWING ARE WE NOW LAYLA?). '

Much love,

Laylax


	13. Maybe Baby

**New chapter's here! I feel awful for not uploading I'm sorry. Anyway, this one has been in the works for months. Enjoy, I love reviews.**

**x layla**

Katherine tried all her life not to be late. Her father had taught her as a child to be on time for her tutor's lessons, and that the professional world had no time for incoherent laze. As young girl, her mother would remind her that she needed to focus on settling herself down, for if she were late, there'd be nothing for her to do with her life. Then she started to work at the Sun, where deadlines became everything. If she were late and they were not met, unemployment would threat, as well as the thought of her mother's organised debutant socials that she would have to come scurrying back to in shame.

But as she sat at her desk in her office, staring out at the midday New York City skyline, she realised this time she had failed to be on time.

It was June 1st, two weeks after her period was due and Katherine had begun to worry.

The possibility of having a baby had occurred to her plenty and she admitted to liking the idea, but with the realisation that it could actually happen right then still made her fret.

She shook her head, trying to focus on her work, but it was difficult to do so.

"Kitty?" Her head shot up at her name and she found Darcy standing by her desk with two mugs in his hands that steamed profusely.

"Darcy." She smiled, snapping out of her reverie.

"I got coffee. Are you okay?" She nodded and grinned with a flash of teeth. Darcy wasn't so convinced. "Let's take these outside, ok? You look like you need a break."

"So truthfully, Kitty," Darcy began as they leant over one of the balconies of the building, their coffee still in hand. "What's wrong?"

Katherine sighed. She knew not to tell anyone anything before she was absolutely sure, but this was Darcy, one of her closest friends. She was sure that he wouldn't spread it or judge her harshly. "You can't repeat any of this, ok?" Darcy nodded and took her hand reassuringly. "I think I might be pregnant."

Darcy's eyes widened. "Pregnant? Oh, Katherine. I'm assuming it's Jack's."

Katherine nodded grimly. "Who else's would it have been?"

"Well I only said because of the issue with the Delancey broth-"

"Forget I said anything." She felt bad for shooting him down, but she couldn't ever talk about what happened to her. It was too much, and she had only just recovered from the physical injuries, which had nothing on the mental damage that looked like it was to stay. "I wasn't raped you know."

"You never talked about it with any one, Kitty. Not even Jack. I didn't know, we didn't know." He squeezed her palm. "But that's a relief that you weren't. Life would be much harder than it already is."

Katherine didn't say anything, she just stared down below at the street, her brown eyes empty. "I'm not ready to be a mother Darcy. Jack and I aren't even married and even if we were, we barely scrape by on paying for our necessities."

"Are you absolutely certain you are?"

She sighed. "I don't know. I haven't seen a doctor. I guess that's the rate limiting step."

Crutchie had been selling papers that morning in his new adapted spot, which was next to the flower stand onlooking the hospital across the street.

"Hearst fires hundreds to save falling budgets!" He yelled. "Read all about it in the World!"

A woman stopped to hand him a penny and in turn he passed her one of the papers from his canvas bag. He would have nodded her a thank you, but he was knocked roughly by a shoulder which almost set him toppling onto the sidewalk.

"Hey! Watch it would'ya?" Crutchie growled clutching his arm, but his expression calmed when the culprit turned her head. "Kathy?"

"Sorry Crutchie! I'm just, uh, in a hurry." The girl looked distraught, and there was a sort of crazy that lingered in her eyes. Something was wrong.

"You ok? You don't look so hot right now-"

"I'm fine! I'm late for this thing, I've gotta go." She left in a brisk pace, holding her skirt in her hands, leaving Crutchie with an eyebrow raised in bewilderment.

When he arrived home at the lodging house, Crutchie spotted Jack on the staircase with a sketch pad in hand.

"Hey, Jackie!" He called.

Jack lifted his head. "Oh, hey."

"You seen ya girl lately?"

He furrowed his brow. "Not since I woke up with her this morning. Why?"

"She ran into me today, acting funny too."

Jack set down his sketch pad on the step and rested his chin on his fist while Crutchie hopped over to sit next to him. "What d'ya mean funny?" He asked.

Crutchie sighed and raked a hand through his blonde hair. "She looked like a time bomb, ya dig? Like she was about to explode any second. I don't know why, are you's having problems?"

"What? No, we's about to get married. We couldn't be happier." Jack sighed. "Where were you?"

"Outside the hospital. Does it matter?"

"The hospital? Why in hell was Katherine filin' out of a hospital? She ain't sick. I mean unless she had an appointment."

But what for

was what Jack was thinking. Katherine always told him where she was going and it just out of character for her to do this. She didn't seem sick, Jack would have known if she was anyway. So what was the matter?

"Jack," Crutchie began. "You don't think Kathy is hiding something from ya?"

"Like what?"

"Well, JoJo was sayin' the other day that when he was living with his sister in Queens that the only reason she ever went to the doctor was when she thought she was expecting. Tests came back and next thing you know she booted out JoJo cause she couldn't afford to feed two kids."

Jack scoffed. "Yeah, well Katherine ain't a prostitute like Francine was. She ain't that easy."

"But if she's in a committed relationship with you, and I'm sure you two get it on regularly, huh?" There was a slight grin on Crutchie's lips and it widened when he saw Jack nod. "Well then I don't see how Katherine's chances of pregnancy and Francine's are any different. Both girls have no contraception and are gettin' just as much sex as one another, be it in a relationship or just a job."

Jack didn't like it, but he had to at least consider the idea. He rubbed his face with his palm and groaned. "Crutch, I'm gonna be a daddy."

Katherine paced her office that afternoon briskly. Darcy and Clara were sitting on the chocolate Chesterfield in her office eyeing one another nervously. She had been like this ever since she returned from the appointment, anxious for her phone call that was promised for the test results. Katherine had bumped into Clara in one of the wards and felt that if Darcy knew, then surely her other best friend should too.

"Kitty would you sit down please, your making me uneasy." Clara said softly, motioning to the spot next to her.

Katherine shook her head, folding her arms. "No, I can't. If I stop, I'll start thinking and then I'll think about what if the test results come back positive and then how Jack will take it, and then what I'd do if he left and then-"

"Katherine!" Darcy stopped her. "Jack isn't going to leave you. And I'm certain that if you are pregnant, which you may not be mind you, he'd be elated."

Clara offered a pearly smile and nodded in agreement with Darcy. "You know how much Jack cares about those boys, he'd be an incredible father."

Katherine smiled briefly. She could see him with a baby, running after them in the apartment, just laughing. And then she could picture coming home to them both curled up on the couch, content with love. There was no doubt about it, Jack would love the child whether it was born out of wedlock or not. But then she thought of her father. Forget Jack, Pulitzer was the hardest nut to crack now.

"My father is going to slaughter me." She murmured solemnly.

Not even Darcy or Clara could come up with a positive reassurance. They knew as well as Katherine that if the results came back positive, she wouldn't even live to see the child.

Darcy took off his glasses and wiped them on his pants before sighing. "Like I said Kitty, you don't have the results. It's a fairly even chance that you aren't pregnant."

Katherine nodded once. She needed to calm down. "Will you two stay with me at least until the results come back this afternoon?"

Jack was selling his last dozen papers that afternoon on the outskirts of Central Park. Davey trailed behind him, down to his last five and was trying to multitask selling papers and keeping conversation, a skill he had learned from Jack when they first met.

"Have a nice day," smiled Jack as a woman trotted off with her paper. "Hey Davey, I got some news for ya."

"About Katherine?"

"Sure is."

Curious, Davey raised a brow. "You guys buying an apartment together? Cause from what I know married couples just don't live separately."

"Yeah, I don't know, we's probably just move into hers or somethin'. No but, it's somethin' else."

"What?"

Jack gave a large grin. "I'm gonna be a daddy."

Davey was lost. His face scrunched up and he looked at Jack in a puzzled manor. Jack said a lot of crazy things, but this by far was the weirdest. "You can't be serious Jack."

"Sure I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"For one, you and Katherine aren't even married yet. Two, you both are only seventeen years old. And three, you can't convince me that in any way Katherine would have been so stupid to even risk this. You Jack, fore sure, but not Katherine, she's got brains."

Jack narrowed his eyes. "I can assure you Davey, that if anyone is being blamed for being frisky, it's Katherine. The girl's a bit of nymphomaniac if ya ask me."

Davey rolled his eyes, frustrated with his friend. "Are you absolutely positive she's having a baby?"

"Well..." Jack paused. "No. But she has to be! Crutchie saw her comin out of the hospital and she's been actin funny for weeks."

"That doesn't mean anything Jack. She could just be sick. And besides, even if she was pregnant wouldn't you be stressing out? You're not married and her father's Joseph Pulitzer."

"Y'see I was panickin' before because I thought to myself, hey I'm still a kid, how could I raise one myself? Then I realised that Katherine and I would make great parents, I mean she's so smart and beautiful, so I guess so would the kid. And I mean I practically look after fifty boys at the lodging house so I couldn't screw up too bad. And Pulitzer..." He drifted off and his eyes glazed over. He didn't look like he had thought this one as much as the others. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

Davey wasn't convinced however. His mouth formed a firm line and concern washed over his brown eyes. "Are you at Katherine's tonight?"

"Yeah, I was gonna make her dinner."

" Maybe you two should talk about it then, get your stories straight, yeah?"

Jack nodded, "Ok."

"You're quiet." Jack mused at Katherine back in her kitchen, chopping up an onion on a cutting board.

She sat on the kitchen bench, her legs dangling as she watched Jack cook. "I don't have much to say."

He smirked. "How was work?"

She smiled softly. "It was fine. My boss wants me to cover the flower parade next week on fifth avenue."

"Fancy," Jack grinned and scooped the onion into his pan of spaghetti sauce. It was courtesy to mrs Jacobs, and was a favourite of Katherine's. "That sounds interesting."

"Psh, are you kidding me? I hate these kind of articles. They're so mundane."

"Maybe mundane could be good." He left the stovetop and took her hand. "Katherine?"

She didn't say anything but only held his gaze. Jack took a breath and bit his lip. "You've been out of it for the past few weeks, you know that?" She didn't reply. "And Crutch said he saw you coming out of the hospital. And I know that this is soon and we's are only engaged-"

"Jack." Katherine interrupted desperately. "I'm not pregnant."

"What?"

"I'm not pregnant. I did go to the hospital because I've been sick and I got the results back this afternoon. I thought I was too." There was a tone of sadness in her voice and it mellowed with Jack's sudden change of features.

"Oh." He said.

Katherine shifted her weight and dropped her shoulders. "Did you want me to be?"

"Not initially. I panicked a little first."

She laughed. "So did I." Her lashes fluttered against her cheeks and she pulled his wrist so that he shuffled into the space between her legs. "Jack I know you wanted this."

He shook his head and kissed her forehead. "Hey, Ace honey, don't worry bout it."

"No, I'm going to. This is something that's important to you. And me. Look, we're going to be married by the end of the month, and that means that everything will be easier for both of us. My boss is willing to give you an illustrating job at the Sun and I'm also getting promoted which means we'll be getting a bigger income. We could find a new place for us to live. And then..." She drifted off and smiled at him. "Then we can think about having a baby."

Jack's features glowed and he kissed her softly. "Ok." She kissed him back and wrapped her arms around his neck, filling in the space between them.


	14. How To Cope

**Here it is! I'm trying to get back into the swing of updating weekly, which is going to be good. Have fun reading it. Reviews reviews reviews please:)**

**x layla**

"This is getting stupid." Katherine muttered in bed, reading through her father's newly sent letter.

Jack, who was still half asleep on his pillow groaned. "What is it? Ya father?"

"Yeah, he replied to our wedding invite. It's a no from him."

"A no? He gave us his blessing!" Jack in all honesty did care and felt bad that Katherine was frustrated with her father, but it was six in the morning, he was barely awake and Katherine hadn't even tempted him with coffee yet. "Ace, sweets, let's worry about this maybe later huh? Let's just go back to sleep." Jack reached for her waist and pulled her back down under the duvet, where she protested as he locked his arms around her middle.

"Jack, no!" She giggled. He grinned sleepily, holding her tight and kissing her bare shoulder blades. She broke free finally and flipped their tangled bodies over, so she sat on his hips. Defeated, Jack lay still and kept his eyes on her. Katherine curled her lips and raised a brow. "How about some coffee?"

The coffee Katherine made was always straight and black. Jack liked it that way. She had bothered once when he had started to say in the nights with cream and foam, but he had told her that it was all useless to him. He worked long hours doing heavy labor and he needed the full strength that the caffeine gave. Katherine had told him then that he yelled and carried a hundred papers or so a day, and not in a child labour factory.

As she poured the hot dark liquid into a mug she heard Jack's heavy footsteps as he came into the room. He was dressed but his hair was still the same ruffled dark mess that she had woken up to.

"He's up." She murmured smiling to herself.

"Not yet Ace." He grumbled back. "I ain't got my coffee."

She pursed her lips and placed the mug in his fingers. "There. Drink up, I've got to go to work. And so do you. "

"Aw, c'mon," he grinned huskily moving towards her to grab her hip with his free hand. "Can't we take a day off? Work from home? Do some extra curricular study, eh?"

"Watch it Kelly." Growled Katherine as Jack kissed her jawline, still smiling. "I've got to go see my father, we can't stay in bed all day."

Jack rolled his eyes. "I'll come with you then."

"Jack, no. He'll be better if I'm just there. But you can stay home if you want, I'll be back for lunch." She broke into a soft smile and knocked her hip against his. "Then I'm yours for the afternoon."

"Why aren't you coming to my wedding father?" Katherine said blankly as she stormed pass Hannah into her father's office.

Hannah raised her hands in defence when Pulitzer raised his gaze. "I tried to stop her Mr. Pulitzer, but she insisted it was important." She explained desperately.

Pulitzer took off his glass and squinted his eyes at Katherine as she sat down on one of the arm chairs. "Katherine."

"Yes, now answer me."

"My dear, I don't need to explain-"

Katherine cut him off. "Yes, you do father. You've given Jack and I your blessing, you threw an engagement party for us for heavens sake. Why not?"

He shifted in his seat and lit a cigar, bringing it forth to his lips. "Katherine, no matter how much I show it, it's not that I don't support you in marrying the boy. He's proved his worth over the last few months immensely."

"Then what is it?" Katherine was genuinely confused. If Jack had been taken out of the picture she didn't know what else his reason could be.

There was a pain in Pulitzer's eyes, she noticed it when she entered the room. A real sadness she hadn't seen before in her eighteen years of knowing him.

"It seems that I've acquired an illness Katherine."

Katherine's expression dropped. "What is it? Surely it's curable."

He shook his head. "Cardiovascular disease. There isn't much doctors can do but give me narcotics."

Katherine felt hot, like her cheeks were glowing, burning embers. She wanted to say something, react even, but she only felt tears pricking her eyes. Blinking, tears rolled down her cheeks and she looked to her father with horror. "Why didn't you tell me?" She whispered finally.

Pulitzer took a drag from his cigar. "I would have sooner or later. I'm not making appearances anymore, it's not possible that I'm there for your wedding and I'm sorry."

"How long have you known, does mama know?"

"A month or so. And yes, she's aware." A he took a breath to pause before extending his arm out to take his daughters hand. His aged hands felt so delicate against hers. She had forgotten what it had felt like due to their distance over the last year.

Katherine frowned. "You shouldn't be smoking a cigar if you have heart disease daddy." She pulled it out of his mouth boldly and put it out in the cup of tea he had on his desk. It was a way of coping and trying not to cry, to bring out her usual attitude. Katherine however felt violent sobs seize her and she collapsed onto the desk, her cheek pressed against their clasped hands.

That afternoon, Katherine trudged her way back to her apartment, eyes red and limbs heavy with exhaustion. She had spent an hour or so at her father's office earlier and almost forgot that she had left Jack waiting at home. He was probably worried sick by now. When she heaved open the door, she hung up her bag on the hook and began to roll her stockings off down her legs as she walked into the living room. It was summer in New York and she didn't have the patience to wear them when she was seeing no one but Jack. She found him sitting with his legs up in the corner of the leather couch focused on the sketch pad in his lap.

"You're back." He smirked, not looking up. "What took ya so long?"

Katherine clenched the flesh coloured stockings in her fist. Jack essentially just brought back all of the hurt that she had managed to control before she came home. Her knees buckled and she fell to the floor, short sobs seizing her as she cried once again.

Jack, hearing her cry, cursed and dropped his sketch pad, rushing to the floor to take Katherine in his arms.

"Hey," he cooed softly. "What'sa matta with you, huh? Why you cryin' sweetheart?"

Katherine buried her head into his shirt and continued to cry. She did so for what felt like eternity, before Jack's gentle rhythmic motion of raking his fingers in her curls comforted her enough that she brought her head level with his. " My father has heart disease Jack." She whispered, rubbing her eyes. "He's not well enough to make appearances anymore. That's why he's not coming to our wedding."

"Ah, Katherine." Jack murmured. He cupped her cheek with his other and and used his thumb to wipe her tears away. "Honey, I'm sorry."

"I know you didn't get along, but I appreciate it Jack." She managed. "He said he was thankful that I had you. That you've proved yourself since we got engaged." She leaned forward to press her lips against Jack's.

Jack pulled away after a moment and offered her a grin. "Hey, he's gonna be ok. Ya old man ain't going no where."

Katherine sniffled and wiped her eye, before letting go of Jack's chest. "I'm gonna go run a bath." She left without anymore words and headed to the bathroom.

Jack, feeling useless to Katherine, went to see if she was ok an hour later. He had heard nothing but the slow trickle of water escaping the tap, which worried him a little. When he wedged the door open silently, he saw that she was still there. In the porcelain bathtub, Katherine had submerged herself in the steaming water, her toes pressed against the tap. Her face was transfixed upon them, squeezing the little digits against the cool brass.

"Hey." She said, her mouth barely moving. He didn't know that she had seen him, and it caught him by surprise.

"Sorry Ace, I just wanted to make sure if you were ok-"

She tossed her head to his direction and stopped him. "I'm fine. Thank you though." She bit her bottom lip and placed her hand at the bottom of the quick up do she had twisted her hair into. "Jack can you hold me?"

Without question, he came to her beside the tub and began to unbutton his shirt. It was off before he worked off the rest of his clothing and slipped into the space behind her.

"Christ," he hissed, as the water came up to his chest. "How's ya skin not blisterin' at this temperature?"

She shrugged and curled up against him, her cheek pressed against his skin. "I like it."

He sighed and smiled down at her, kissing her auburn hair, damp from the steam. Although bare and pressed up against his own skin, he put aside the intruding thoughts that hit like bricks against his mind and only focused on being a stable object for her to cling to in her distress. As the waves around them splashed in a steady rhythm, he felt her tight grip loosen and her breathing become calmer. She fell asleep quickly in the safety of Jack's arms and before he knew it he felt his eyes become heavy too.

Katherine woke up later in in the silks of her duvet and several oversized pillows. Her eyelids fluttered and she found herself to be back in her bedroom, clothed in only her short satin dressing gown. Her skin felt clean and her hair felt slightly damp. It suddenly came to her that she had fallen asleep in the tub with Jack. Speaking of whom, she spied him on her chaise near the window, where he sat cross legged and scratching with his pencil at his sketch book.

Jack shot his head up, catching her gaze. "She's up."

"Did you put me to bed?" She yawned in reply.

Jack nodded. "Ya slept through the afternoon."

"What time is it?"

"Eight."

"Are you going to go home?"

"No." He put down his sketchbook and sauntered over to climb in bed with her. He pulled the covers over the two of them and placed a large hand on her thigh. "Because you need me."

Katherine took his jaw and turned it to kiss his cheek. "I do. Thank you."


	15. What Comes After Tea

**late update I know. I'm silly. I've just been in tech rehearsals for production at school all week and I've had no time on top of school and dance to upload. Reviews. Enjoy**

**layla x**

"What do you think?" Asked Katherine as she whipped her head around to Jack, where he lay in the covers of her bed. She was seated at her vanity trying on accessories for her mother's annual tea party. She tipped the brim of her yellow flowered hat on her head, to which he grimaced.

"That's the ugliest thing I ever seen." He replied blankly. "Looks like that girl Race brought home last week. The one with the goats in her kitchen."

Katherine frowned and threw the hat at him, in which hit him square in the face. "You try dressing for one of these events Jack. There not as easy as they look."

"I don't see why ya going then. Ya hate everyone there and ya just complain you ain't got nothin to wear."

"I don't really have a choice. My mother is hosting it and now that I'm about to become part of the 'wives of New York publishing' band, I'm expected to be there."

"Katherine, just because I sell the paper, don't mean that I'm part of the publishing group."

Katherine shrugged and reached for the pastel pink ribboned straw floppy hat that sat close to her. "Close enough." She spun around and grinned, tilting her chin to pose. "How's this one?"

He chuckled and motioned for her to come to him on the bed. She took off the hat and climbed over his body frame and pressed her lips down to his.

Jack pulled away and buried his fingers in her crown, touching his forehead to hers. "I like ya better like this."

The Pulitzer's ballroom had been set up with large tables, all adorned with generous bouquets of lilies and porcelain tea sets that would have costed more than a year worth of Jack and Katherine's groceries. The soft chatter of women sat gracefully in their chairs echoed off the high ceiling until a sharp ping sounded and silenced the crowed.

Katherine, who was in the middle of stirring honey into her tea cup, looked up to see her mother standing with a glass and spoon, a smile stretched across her face.

"Good morning ladies." She began. "I'm happy to welcome my eldest daughter Katherine, who's to be married to her fiancée next week. I know she's been dying to come to tea ever since she was a little girl." Katherine offered a smile to the sets of eyes that had fixed on her around the room, before shooting her head back down and playing with the lace on her sleeve. It was quite clear that she really hadn't been dying to come. Her mother cleared her throat and laughed airily. "Well enjoy your tea and remember to take one of the cucumber sandwiches that Moira put out. I know they go quickly in our household." She returned back to her own table and the chatter resumed.

"Fiancée, huh?" Scoffed a voice from across Katherine. Marguerite Dubois, one of her father's partner's daughter, sat clad in periwinkle with her hand cupped in her chin. "I didn't think that a strong work force woman had time for one of those." There was a snicker from the girls next to her, Elle and Simona Winter, again, publisher's twin daughters. Katherine had knew these girls since she went to boarding school when they were younger, and they were just as bitchy now as they were then.

"Welcome to the twentieth century." Katherine replied coolly. "I'm sorry that your husbands bound you to a lifetime of no importance, except for being something there to push out their heirs."

"Katherine!" Exclaimed Clara, who was sitting next to Katherine. She had tagged along by Marie Pulitzer's instruction to not let things like this slip out of her daughter's lips. She forced a smile and laughed. "Well it's lovely to see everyone all in the same place again! Don't you think so Kitty?"

"Wonderful." There wasn't a hint of joy on her face.

"Clara Mason. It's been a while since we saw you last. If I remember you were going to become the next Florence Nightingale. Another big ambition, however, you don't have fiancée like Katherine does, do you?" Marguerite fired.

Clara's face narrowed and she seemed done with being friendly. "Look, I don't have to have someone-"

"Keep telling yourself that, ok?"

"I mean I'm not engaged. We're... Courting." It slipped out and Katherine shot her a puzzled look. Clara wasn't with anyone, and she had no idea who she was talking about.

Ellen wasn't so convinced. "I've never heard that. And I hear everything."

"What's his name?" Simona pressed.

"David." Blurted Clara. "...Jacobs."

"Wait-" Katherine couldn't continue for Clara shot her a glare.

"Kitty, can we please go and get a sandwich plate?"

"Uh, sure." Clara grabbed her arm and lead her to one of the food tables.

"Would you shut up?" She hissed.

"Clara, you aren't with Davey. Why did you say that?"

"Because I'm sick of Marguerite Dubois and her rat friends making me feel like a failure. I didn't mean it."

Katherine nodded before pressing her tongue to her cheek, smiling slightly. "Why Davey?"

"I don't know. Why does it matter?"

"Well you didn't just randomly think of his name." She giggled. "Surely you've thought of it before."

"We've spoken a few times. It's not anything serious."

"So it is something?"

"What? No! I mean, ugh..." Clara struggled to convince her and eventually sighed, giving up. "Ok. I had been thinking about him."

"Jack and I called it!" She squealed, grinning madly.

Clara clasped her hand over her mouth though and frowned. "You can't say anything to him. I haven't talked to him since Jack was sick and he just thought I was rude then. God, he probably thinks I'm a horrible person."

"No! Jack heard Davey saying that you were just...direct to the point."

Clara groaned and threw her head back. Katherine couldn't be happier though, for she and Jack hadn't stopped planning how they would get their two friends together. She just hoped that Davey could be mutually as attracted to Clara as she was to him.

Clara had gone to her shift at the hospital after they left from the Pulitzer's mansion and Katherine had already cancelled work that day, so she decided to go visit Jack at the lodging house.

When she bustled through the hall way in the entrance, the boys made way for her, for they knew she was Jack's girl. She saw familiar faces, whom nodded and tipped their caps to her until she reached the second floor dorms and found Jack on his bunk. Jack sketched quietly in his lap, leaning against the bunk ladder. Katherine walked in silently on her toes, coming up behind her lover and covering his eyes with her hands. "Guess who." She whispered and kissed his cheek.

Jack chuckled and pulled her hands down, to turn and kiss her. "What are you doin' here, Ace?"

She shrugged."I have time to kill. The question is do you?"

"I was working on a submission for the paper. They want a political piece for the pape on Thursday." Jack set down the sketch pad and pulled Katherine into his lap. "But I can just do it later. How was tea?"

"Dreadful. Please don't ever let me become like the women who go to those functions."

"And who's are those women?"

"Marguerite and the rat pack. I forgot how awful they were since we all left boarding school."

"The rat pack?"

Katherine shrugged again. "I missed you though."

"Aw, Ace honey." His hands combed through her hair and he settled down to lay on his side. "I missed ya too."

She pulled her weight down to lie next to him, so that her face mirrored his. Her leg entwined itself over his and she pressed herself to Jack's chest. There was a brief moment before hands were at each others clothing and fists were tugging at each other's hair that they just stared at one another. No words spoken, but just gaze upon gaze.

When Katherine began pulling at the waist band of his pants, Jack stopped her suddenly. "Wait," he said.

Katherine furrowed her brow. "What?"

"Lemme lock the door." He was up in a flash and bolting the door. Katherine couldn't help scanning him up and down as he stood. His muscular frame looked golden in the afternoon light and his pants slouched loosely without his belt around his hips. When he turned back, Katherine flicked her eyes away quickly. Jack, however noticed.

"Were you checkin me out?" He smirked.

"No." She bit her lip.

There was a rough laugh and he raced back and climbed onto Katherine, in which she giggled as he kissed her lips. Her fingers went back to pulling the waistband of his pants while Jack was busy with her lacy under skirts. She stopped him in an instant though, panting, "Leave them on. They'll take forever to put back on. Plus they'll crumple on the floor."

"Whatever you say." So he left the snow stockings on her legs and hiked the skirts to her waist. She remained in her satin corset, knowing for well it would be the worst to put back on. There wasn't much time before Jack had pressed her down against the bony mattress and bent her legs back. He pulled himself out of his pants and positioned himself at Katherine's entrance. Her breath hitched as he slid in and she reached for his lips to keep her moans at bay. The enveloped kisses were hot and distracting as he kept up the steady pace he had started. Feeling the tension inside grow, she crossed her legs over Jack's bare back and raked her fingers through his scruffy hair. Jack felt her sudden grip and increased his speed and intensity.

"God," he sighed, his lips slipping from her mouth to her jaw. "Ya never make this easy for me Ace, do ya?"

Katherine tried to reply but he had begun biting gently at her neck, so she ended up whimpering instead. He continued pounding into her heavily with his hands gripped firmly under her ribs. She didn't mean to but her nails had dug them selves into his shoulder and he cursed under his breath. "Ace. Let go."

"Hm?"

"You's are killing my shoulder. Ya nails are too sharp." She retracted them instantly and apologised quickly. In reality, Jack didn't really mind, it actually was kind of a turn on. But he used her moment of weakness that resulted of it, to flip her to her side.

"Jack!" She exclaimed as he started to ease himself in and out of her again. The urge to bend her knee and place her foot on her thigh became apparent as Jack bit down on her earlobe. She could hear his soft grunts and pants and she could tell he was feeling the strain of her tight heat against him. His lips were at her throat again, wet and hot. The scent of his breath, brandy and tobacco, was eminent and made Katherine feel dizzy. It was a scent that was so familiar; a scent that would never have lingered on the men her parents had wanted her to marry. They had stung her nose with strong colognes, and expensive blends of tea leaves. Although she hit Jack on the back of his head when he pulled out one of his hand rolled cigarettes, she had to admit the scent was almost an aphrodisiac to her. It wasn't so much the actual tobacco, but the memory of Jack that it provoked. The nights he slept at the lodging house, leaving her alone; the scent still remained on her pillows, in which she would hold close to her. The brandy on the other hand was something he kept to himself. She knew that he didn't like drinking like the other boys in front of her and when he meant drinking he meant drowning in the stuff. But even when sober, the scent would remain. She liked it. It was sweet, and hollow smelling. The tobacco and brandy mingled together on his breath made her usually want to drop to her knees, which was what it was doing as Jack moved against her.

They fit together perfectly, like pieces of a puzzle. Sweat had accumulated on their skin and it was almost like they were melting into each other.

Katherine had tried to keep her cries at a low minimum as she remembered that they were sharing the building with fifty or so boys, but the growing knot in her stomach was getting bigger and bigger. A sharp whimper escaped her lips and Jack pressed two fingers against them. "Hey, shh. Ace." He hushed into her ear. "We's gotta keep it down, ok?"

She moaned quietly in response and flexed her neck back so that her lips crushed themselves onto his jaw to shut herself up. Despite telling her to be quiet, Jack seemed to be doing everything to stop her from doing so. His fingers had travelled their way to her folds and began fondling her clit. Her soft scream was muffled by his fleshed and he groaned at the vibration. The new touch accelerated the knot, and she felt herself grow heavy and begin to ache. After a while of it, Jack's fingers became rough and his thrusts into her heat became sloppy. She could sense that he was close and in the same instance she felt herself become tighter. She was the first to gasp breathlessly as the peak hit her and Jack followed not far after. They collapsed onto each other's sweaty bodies carelessly, Katherine panting against Jack's bare chest.

"I feel like I died and went to heaven." She murmured after an awaiting silence. "How do you always do it?"

"Please. Ya shouldn't give such low credibility to ya self." He chuckled. They lay in silence for what seemed to run into dusk from the old frosted window.

When the peach sky melted into hints of violet night, Katherine laughed. "Clara loves Davey."

"We's were right." He grinned sleepily.

She traced her fingertip over the feint chest hair that patched just below his sternum. "I'm going to set them up at the wedding."

"Should Davey be aware of this?"

She shrugged and snuggled further into him. "Let's surprise him."

He laughed and tightened his arms around her, planting a kiss on her temple. She pulled up the scratchy blanket that was his at the lodging house and brought it up to their shoulders. They didn't mean to fall asleep then, but later that night when the boys filed in for bed, God did they wish they hadn't.


	16. A promise

**Ok I had a reason for this being late this time. I had written about 2 k in and then the app I used on my phone to write refreshed itself automatically and I had to start all over again. But this has been a really long awaited chapter and is almost 5k so give a goil a reward and review review review why doncha? Xx**

**love, Layla.**

Katherine stood toying with her diamond engagement ring in the small room outside where everyone had been waiting for her for about fifteen minutes. It was her wedding day and her mother had already bid her good luck before she went in, so Katherine was now alone. She had meant to go in earlier, but the fact that no one was there to walk her down that aisle beside her made her wait. And wait, and wait, and wait.

Did they think she had gotten cold feet and run? Or maybe they figured she'd fallen in those stupid jewelled pumps and hurt herself. Probably not the latter, she thought, someone would have come already to see if she was ok. But she knew what they were thinking, it sat like a tumour in the back of her mind. They were giving her time because they knew that the idea of walking alone down the aisle without her father was rough.

His health had become worse in the span of a few weeks and she understood his reasons for not attending. But that didn't mean that it wasn't killing her not to have his arm to cling to.

Another minute or so passed and she sat down on one of the benches. It was her mother's plan to have her and Jack wed at the Rita's hotel, an upper east side architectural beauty that was completely over kill in her opinion. But she didn't really care at the end of the day, she was marrying Jack and that was what mattered.

The thought of him urged her to look down at her engagement ring. It was so simple compared to the other clusters of diamonds and pearls that clung to her neck, ears and wrist which had been heirlooms of the Pulitzer women, handed down to Katherine. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate it, it was just that Jack's ring, although minimal, held so many more memories and feelings from the man who slipped it on her finger. She tugged it off and held it between her thumb and forefinger, examining the gold band.

Jack had taken it off her a few days before saying he had to get it engraved and by that she meant he had to ask Specs to use the edge of his frames to scratch into the gold. He had only given it back to her that morning, and with all the wedding preparations she hadn't had time to look at the change. Through squinted eyes, she could make out Jack's chicken scratch handwriting spelling out, _Mo grá._ She didn't think it was English, so it must have been Gaelic. He would occasionally mutter phrases in it that he'd probably picked up from his father, whom she knew was the responsibility of his Irish tongue. But this phrase wasn't familiar. She'd have to ask Jack later what it meant. And to do that, she'd have to move from her seat and walk down that aisle.

"Come on girl," she muttered. "Get a hold of yourself." There was a sigh and she pushed the ring back on her finger and stood to go open the door.

But from the back door behind her, a gentle knock was rapped. She went to go turn the door knob and was shocked to see the one man she had longed for to be present.

"Father?" She whispered.

"I didn't want you to do it alone." He replied. He looked terrible. His skin was like paper and dark circles creeped under his eyes. The expensive suit wasn't different though and the stiffness of the jacket made his diminishing frame look sturdier. "My god do you look like your mother when I married her."

She smiled through tears, which were dabbed away quickly, as they would run black streaks of mascara down her cheeks if she didn't.

"I'm sorry." She sniffed. "I didn't think you'd come."

Pulitzer took his daughter tight in his embrace and kissed her hair. "I wouldn't miss it for the world."

She sobbed into his lapel, the scent of the pinned magnolia wafting gently up her nose. It took her father's soft hushes and hair stroking to get her to pull herself together finally. She pulled away and straightened his tie. He used his thumbs to wipe away her tears and fix her veil so it sat straight at the back of her hair. He then pulled it over so the fine, sheer white material splayed across her face.

"Beautiful," He smiled. "Are you ready?" Katherine nodded and kissed his cheek, which he chuckled at and took her arm in his. "Let's go show Mr. Kelly how much he'll regret it if he ruins this marriage."

The crowd in the hall almost seemed to sigh in relief when she and her father walked through the door. They stood and smiled at her, noticing that her father was present, and that she looked as happy and beautiful as the bride she was supposed to be. Her and Jack's family were separated down the middle. Jack's real family of her knowledge were long dead, but there were all of the newsboys that she knew of sitting there instead. Some even looked like they were from as far as the Bronx. Then of course on her's, the long line of Pulitzers sat pleasantly in their finest array of clothing, juxtaposed against the just clean by the freckle, grinning and whispering newsboys.

She caught sight of Davey and Crutchie near the altar, whom she figured Jack had picked out as his best men. They stood beside her own force of brides maids, that included her sisters and Angie and Clara, dressed all in soft egg shell blue. Then in the centre she found Jack's gaze which was transfixed against her intently. His face lit up with a grin which she replied with an equally big one.

When her father had taken her to the end of the aisle, he gently let her go and kissed Katherine's cheek. There was a brief moment where she saw him glare at Jack as if to say, don't screw it up.

"What happened?" He whispered, taking her fingers in his once Pulitzer had gone to go sit with his wife in the seats.

"Nothing." Katherine wasn't going to say anything more. She'd made it up there and that was all that mattered.

He squeezed her hands. "Ya look beautiful."

"Jack, they're waiting for us to start."

"What?"

"They need us to be quiet to start the ceremony."

"Oh, right. Sorry." He flashed the priest behind them a half sorry smile and shuffled in to fill the space between them.

"We are gathered here today to commence and celebrate the union of miss Katherine Ethel Pulitzer and mr. Jack Francis Kelly." The priest began. There were snickers from the newsies in the front row when they heard Jack's middle name. Jack shot them a glare, while Katherine stifled a giggle. Using Francis was her way of irritating him when she felt like he needed to be. Jack found that it corroded his sense of authority though when he was with the boys, so when they were alone he'd get back at her by using Ethel. It was her own dreaded name and usually ended up in her hitting him for calling her by it.

She regained her attention to what the priest was Sayang when Jack began his vows.

"Katherine _Ethel_ Pulitzer," he smirked and took one of the plain gold wedding bands from which Crutchie had been holding. "In good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, I vow to be there for ya as your husband." The ring was glided smoothly onto her finger, where her engagement ring was already present. The two stacked together sparkled under the warm glow of the crystal chandelier above them, twinkling ever so slightly.

"Jack _Francis_ Kelly," she returned back, just as spiteful as he had. "In good times and bad, in sickness and in health, I vow to be your wife." She took his ring, just as plain as hers, and pushed at up to his knuckle. They both noted that for once in their lives, there was no dirt or ink spotted on their hands. Marie had insisted on cleanliness being a priority.

"Katherine do you take Jack to be your lawfully wedded husband?" The priest interjected.

"I do."

"And Jack do take Katherine to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

Jack flashed pearly whites. "I do."

"Then by the power of the church I pronounce you husband and wife." Jack stared at him with a sense of urgency in his eyes. The priest rolled his own. "You may kiss the bride."

Jack lifted the veil off her face and pressed his lips firmly against hers. Katherine moved in further, smiling, and they seemed to hold it a little too long for the Pulitzers' liking.

Later that evening, they stayed to gather for the reception, which they held in the large ballroom at the same hotel. Katherine had danced with every cousin, family friend, and newsboy in the crowd, and had gotten so tired that she sat at one of the white clothed tables. She heard the grinding of the seat next to her and saw Jack sitting down.

"Ya feet sore?" He asked.

"I'm a slave to fashion." She sighed and raised her knees, pointing down to her heels. He laughed and grabbed them, placing them in his lap.

"Jack!" Hissed Katherine. "What are you doing? People are going to see!" He ignored her and proceeded to slip off those jewelled pumps which hit the floor with a thump. He held her bare feet in his hands and began rolling circles into all the right places.

"I'm supposed ta rub ya feet when they's get sore. You's my wife now." Katherine would have kept protesting but his hands were like heaven on her aching blistered feet.

"Is this something I missed in the contract? Till death do us part and forever hold my feet?" She laughed.

"You want me to stop?"

She shook her head and bit her lip. The plate of untouched white frosted cake caught her eye on the far side of the table and she reached to bring it over.

Jack glanced as she pushed a forkful into her mouth. "Want some?" She asked. She shovelled some cake from the plate and extended her arm so that it hovered before his mouth.

He opened wide, biting down on the fork as she pulled it back.

"Ya happy your old man showed?" He said, still chewing. Katherine nodded and looked over to where her father sat with her family, a glass of tonic in his grip. He looked like he was happy, which was rare. She'd have to go and thank him later, for having the strength and love for her to attend.

"When are we going to go home Jack?" She sighed, raking a hand through her crown.

"Whenever. I'm sure Davey'll control the place when we's are gone."

"Speaking of Davey, look to your left."

Jack whipped his head around to where people were still dancing in the centre of the room. Clara's blue dress caught his attention which hung to her figure that was pressed close against Davey's.

"Is that-"

"Yes. Yes it is." She said smugly. "With all thanks to me, if I do say so myself."

"You're incredible." He chuckled, before planting a kiss on her cheek. "What'ya say kid? One more piece a cake then we get outta this joint?"

Katherine laced her fingers into his. "Back to my apartment?"

"Nah, I got somewhere ya gonna like better."

They caught one of the cabs back and throughout the whole car ride, Jack kept his hand firmly over Katherine's eyes. She had tried to pry them apart to get a peek of what he was hiding, but he just reminded her that she'd ruin his surprise.

When he had gently got her out and walked her over the curb, his arms wrapped tightly around her, he unlocked what sounded like a door to Katherine.

"Aright, open ya eyes." He chuckled and removed his large hand. Katherine found herself facing a large red door. She looked up and saw a series of windows stacked upon each other. The stone was weathered and old, but you could still see all of the ornate etching and crevices. Ivy crept all over the three stories and even up at the balcony on the top floor.

"Welcome home Ace." He murmured, before kissing the spot behind her ear.

"How the hell did you get this?" She marvelled. "We've been looking for months for a decent place to live together, everything else was so much smaller."

"Spot said he passed it the other day and nobody had been in it since he'd known. I checked with the people next door. It was an open property, I could take it if I wanted it."

"It's wonderful, but surely it had to have cost you."

He shook his head. "Nothing but the complaints of the boys helping me fix up the inside. Now c'mon you're gonna catch a cold out here." With that he scooped her up in his arms and opened the front door, before carrying her over the threshold. The narrow corridor was plain and white plastered, illuminated softly by the old frosted lamps hanging from the ceiling. There was a wooden staircase at the end of the hall which Jack climbed and led the to the second floor. There was hardly any furniture but she noted rooms for what they could be. The large, long room off the new hallway they came into could be used as a dining room. The next along was tiled, so she assumed it was a kitchen. On the third floor was more standard rooms for what she believed could be their living areas. Three smaller rooms aligned next to the one in the middle, which she noted had the balcony attached to it. It was much larger and already had its big ceiling lamp turned on. A large walnut stained bed was positioned just underneath it and was the only furniture that Katherine believed was in the house. She'd have to make a note of bringing all of their things in the next day. Well, maybe not the next day, she had thoughts about spending all day in that bed with Jack. The thought made her glow inside.

Katherine raised the corners of her lips and pulled Jack's jaw to face her. "I love it." She kissed him, giggling. "I love you."

"I love you too." His words fell softly on her lips, and she was so distracted by them she didn't notice him pacing over to let her down on the mattress.

He had her propped up against the pillows before straddling her hips, crushing his lips down to hers. Katherine pushed back against him and dug her fingers into his hair, ruffling what had once been barely smoothed down. She reached behind her to unpin the veil that was threatening to rip as it got caught beneath her weight and tossed it to the other side of the room. She also removed the sapphire and diamond barrette that held her long hair up, and placed it on one of the night stands next to her carefully. It was her great grandmother's and had been passed down through the family, so she'd be dead if she broke it.

The soft auburn waves tumbled down to her waist, transfixing Jack for the scent of blossoms creeped into his nose. Her collarbone, bust, and shoulders were bare and her perfumed flesh teased him. Without a word, he began unbuttoning her dress from the back and pulling the white silk off of her. He growled when he found more layers underneath. It seemed like fashion was becoming more and more conservative everyday and Jack didn't like it one bit.

"Seriously?" He frowned.

Katherine, flustered and swollen lipped from his kisses, looked up to him. "How else is the dress going to hold shape?"

Jack rolled his eyes and kept peeling back the tulle layers. He didn't care about shape. He just wanted her, in her own skin, bare just for him. When he finally got down to her satin corset, Katherine grabbed his hands.

"Why do you always undress me first?" She murmured into his ear. Jack didn't really have a reason, it was just something he'd picked up with other girls he'd been with before he'd met her. But then again, Katherine wasn't a very ordinary girl.

"Undress me then." Breathed Jack. It was so forward, and she liked hearing it fall from his mouth, so she did what she was told. He hadn't bought anything new to wear for their wedding. It just seemed stupid to him to blow the money he should be saving for them both to survive on clothes he'd wear once. So he had ransacked Davey's wardrobe for a decent, clean pair of pants and had bleached one of his shirts twice to get it stark white. He even got Les to polish his shoes for him the day before.

All of it was taken off achingly slowly by Katherine though, before he was given her signal to keep going with unhooking her corset and sliding off her last skirts and stockings. They clung to each others' hot, slightly sweaty skin and Jack made a mental note to remember it.

From now on, he would wake up to Katherine in this bed, they would go to sleep like this in this bed, hell, she'd probably have their first child in this bed. He was glad that he didn't slack off and just bring in the mattress, for he knew that it wouldn't have the same effect that this piece of junk from the second hand shop had. It was cheap, and he had skipped on a day's worth of food for it. It didn't really bother him though. He wanted his wife to be provided for, even if she objected to it on the daily.

"Jack," she whispered.

"I'm here."

"Jack I want you, now."

He didn't waste a second reattaching himself back to her lips and running his hands down her body. She gasped when he caressed all the right places, his favourite being the little flicker of her voice squeaking when he touched her wet entrance briefly. He had her on a string like this. The usual sassiness and wit she possessed was stripped back, and she became pure and liquid like in his hands.

Jack returned back to where had just brushed and blindly felt for that little bundle of nerves that he had shown her during their first time together. There was a lot of things that she had never learnt about the human body growing up, particularly her own female one. She had explained to him that it wasn't proper for a young girl to know such things, for when the time came when they married, they were merely just to be there for their husband's pleasure and ego. Jack had held her close and replied that he'd never do that, what they had wasn't like that, it was genuine love for each other. He then had felt the urge to slowly educate her and guide her through the foreign territory. The things she knew now thanks to Jack about her own pleasure would have disgusted any possible suitor that might have tried to seize her up.

Her back arched at his touch and she bit her lip, stifling a whimper.

"Hey y'know what's also great about the joint?" Jack laughed.

Katherine tried to reply but his index finger rolled hard against her and she cried out instead.

"We don't have any neighbours to keep quiet for." Jack chuckled and kept working his fingers. He dared to go further and grinned when he felt how wet she was. After flicking his eyes to hers to ask for permission to go further, which she nodded once to, he pushed his two digits into her. It didn't take long before he was curling them inside and out of her.

Katherine became undone beneath him and after a while of his constant movements, she felt herself become tight. They had all night and she didn't want to reach the finish line too quickly.

"Jack." She sighed. "Jack hold up. I don't want to finish like this."

Jack smirked. "Ace, sweetheart, I can assure you there'll be plenty of opportunities tonight to finish."

"Don't care, c'mere." Katherine pulled him back up to her line of sight and smashed her lips to his. Her tongue traced his lower lip and Jack opened his jaw slightly, granting her access. He growled as she tugged at his dark, scruffy hair and with his own hands grasped her behind firmly. She delved deeper into the hollow of his mouth, distracting him while she planned to roll him over. Jack was taken by surprise and his green eyes widened as he found Katherine where had just been a second ago. "This ain't cause you're a hardcore feminist and you's believe that women should have control in the bedroom as well, is it?" He chuckled.

She shrugged. "Maybe. But I think I'm just feeling like showing off tonight."

He laughed a booming laugh, the one she had fallen in love with since that first interview. "I'm alright with that."

She straightened her spine and rolled her shoulders, knowing for well Jack was struggling with the sight of her pert, weighted breasts in front of him and her wet heat pressed against his stomach.

She bit her lip and caught her breath as she felt his warm palms cup her chest, but she didn't relish the feeling, for she had already begun lowering herself down to his now hard member.

Jack's hands were at her hair quickly, pulling it up so it wouldn't get in her way.

"God Katherine." He moaned from the bottom of his throat, reacting to her lips that had wrapped around his length. She grasped him by the base and slowly slid her tongue down him. He didn't think she'd stop teasing him with her tongue, but as she was swirling it around his tip she finally took him in her mouth. Her mouth was searing hot on him and her hand that she hadn't used already, pattered against his stomach, drawing attention to the increasing tension building within. He felt her eyes flicker to his own for a moment, briefly but intensely, chocolate against deep sea green.

She went back to gliding her mouth up and down on him, her wrist jerking against him all the same time. Minutes later, Jack knew that if he didn't stop 'her' this time, he'd screw up their night.

"Ace. Honey." He panted. "Let's drop the foreplay, yeah? I need you now." He said the last phrase urgently, and Katherine took his rigidness out of her mouth, and then proceeded to crawl on her knees to lay horizontal across the cotton covers. With her knees bent, her hand travelled down to her wet centre, and began playing with herself while she waited for Jack to position himself. When Jack noticed what she was doing, he grinned like a Cheshire Cat. "I's always liked your independency." He peppered kisses to her jawline and stopped at her ear, where he bit down gently and pushed himself into her.

Vertebrae by vertebrae, her spine arched and she grasped to the mattress for support. There was a grind of his teeth and he was then thrusting at a tempo that she was familiar with.

Katherine was so used to having to conceal their love making back at her apartment or at the lodging house that she had lost the confidence of being noisy like she once did.

When she felt herself about to moan loudly, she slapped a hand to her mouth to stop herself. Jack tugged it away however and chuckled into her ear. "Let yourself go. We's got three stories of empty space to be as loud as we want."

After he'd said that, Katherine kept her hands either in his hair or laced around his neck and her mouth remained open.

His poundings were overwhelming, and she savoured the scent of their sweat combined along with Jack's borrowed cologne and her own perfume. She felt her head droop off the mattress and began to feel dizzy. She didn't really notice though, for his movement inside her was too good for her to care. That increasingly taught string began to pull in her stomach, reeling her into the bed. His grunts and sudden lack of a sense of aim was evident and Katherine knew that he was starting to feel it too. It was only a matter of minutes before pleasure waved over them, Katherine first, and then Jack, both collapsing into a hot, sticky tangle of legs and arms, fired with ecstasy.

"Don't get too comfortable Kelly," Katherine laughed breathlessly. "I'm not finished with you yet. I've still got to get you to the second round."

"Ok, ok...can we's just lie here for a bit though? Ya killin' me."

They were both grinning ear to ear, their once perfect presentation from the wedding completely gone. Katherine's makeup had smudged and Jack's smooth hair was now in disarray, sticking out in every direction like it had before. The after scent of sex was in the air and created a soft mood for them both.

"I'm so happy you're my wife." Jack mused, playing with her hair while she lay on his bare chest.

"Mr and mrs Katherine and Jack Kelly." She added. "I like it."

Katherine awoke in the early hours of the morning to the empty walls of their bedroom. The air was still and everything was dark, but she heard the slap of bare feet against wood somewhere. She tossed her weight to look next to her in the bed, which appeared empty. Jack must have been up.

Unable to sleep, she made her way out of the room wrapped in the sheet from the bed. Her clothes were somewhere in the room and she didn't particularly feel like pulling back on that wedding dress. She had gotten her round two that night and she didn't know about Jack, but it had made her so tired that she fell asleep almost instantly.

She walked through the empty house until she saw Jack's silhouette through the door of the top balcony. She pushed her head through a wedge in the door and found him leaning against the stone ledge, smoking a cigarette.

"Can't sleep?" She asked softly.

Jack shot his head around. "Nah not really."

"Come back inside then, we can talk."

"I wanna talk out here."

"Jack I'm naked under this, someone will see us up here."

"It's two am Ace, no one's even on the streets. C'mere." She sighed and stepped out into the breeze, clutching the papery cotton around her curves. She leaned like Jack did and took his hand. "What's the matter Kelly?"

"I'm just going over how I came from a children's refuge to marrying the most beautiful girl in New York."

She smiled and her cheeks turned pink. "You're a great guy Jack. I'm luckier to have you as my husband."

She paused before arching her brows and snatching the lit cigarette from his fingers and putting it in her mouth.

"Ace, what the hell?" He exclaimed and tried to pull it back, but she inhaled on it and pushed his hand away. Jack shook his head. "Ladies shouldn't smoke."

"We're in a bound marriage now. You don't call the shots though." She smirked.

He chuckled. "I'm glad to see I still got the same fiery news reporter. I was scared I was gonna lose her."

Jack watched her exhale the smoke in long billowing tendrils. It was like she had done it before, but he knew it was only by watching him and the other boys.

Katherine tilted his jaw to kiss his cheek. "You did good with the house."

He took the cigarette back and smiled. "Ya think so?"

"Yeah." She tightened the sheet around her bust and placed a hand on his chest. "We're going to make so many memories here. You and me, maybe a family."

"Oh, there's no maybe. We's gonna have a family. Little ankle biters runnin' round the place with inky hands and shoutin' headlines."

"I love it." She grinned, laughing with her head tossed back. There was a brief moment of silence before she tugged on Jack's wrist, pulling him towards the door. "Let's go to bed though. We've got time for all that later."

"Ya promise?"

She kissed Jack as they stumbled back inside. "I promise."


	17. Always a Bridesmaid

**Ok I'm not even going to apologise this time for tardiness. Like I'm really just repeating myself every time. But I've been in India over Christmas break and just at the coast down here in silly little Australia so I just haven't had time to upload. Oh well, you get three chapters in one this time. And the last ones long...OOH. Anyway this was kind of an extra behind the scenes chapter for the last so enjoy. **

**Love always,**

**Layla**

Clara Mason had never been a believer in love at weddings. She had seen it all before and they always ended up in a sour marriage themselves. But as she sat with her chin on her fist at one of the tables on the side of the room, watching Jack and Katherine dance together, she wished that she did have a string of hope.

Katherine was beautiful as always, looking like a frosted snow angel as Jack swept her off her feet. But it wasn't like those suitors had tried to at debutants Marie Pulitzer had tried to set up for her. They had kept a safe distance holding each other, Katherine not particularly interested in what they were trying to say to her. But with Jack, Clara observed a sort of roughness as held her by her waist. There was no distance between them and Katherine was laughing with tears welling her eyes from something Jack had whispered in her ear. Clara wanted that, so bad.

"Clara, what are you doing?" A voice sighed from the spot next to her. She whipped her head to find Darcy pulling up a chair.

"Hm? Oh I'm just tired. Romeo has an incredible stamina for dancing you know."

Darcy chuckled, watching where Romeo had seized up one of Katherine's young cousins who was having a hard time trying to keep up with the newsboy.

Pushing up his glasses to the bridge of his nose he turned to Clara. "Not the newsboy you were looking for?"

She furrowed her brow. "How did you find out?"

"Katherine." He was smug, and it irritated her that much more.

"She can't keep her mouth shut can she? I swear to god, she finds love and suddenly she becomes better than everyone else doesn't she?"

Darcy was laughing at her and she glared right back at him. "It's no big deal Darc. I just happen to really like the tall dark one."

"Jack?"

"What? No! Davey!"

"Ah yes, he doesn't stop talking does he? I can see how you two could grow quite fond of one another."

She rolled her eyes. "You're not helping."

He mouthed a sorry before pausing to gesture to where Davey was guiding Maggie Pulitzer, Katherine's sister in his arms. "They look like there having a good time. Laughing, smiling. You should break it up."

She raised her brow. "What? No, I can't do that. She's with him, they're happy."

"Clara, if you don't do something now, they're going to be the next Jack and Katherine, have an even bigger wedding than this one and probably pop out an army of wealthy Jewish children."

"Actually they'll only be Jewish if the mother is-Darcy!" He had grasped her wrist and began pulling her to the dance floor. She hissed at him, "what the hell are you doing?"

"Making you go and talk to Davey." He replied matter of factly.

She tried not to make a scene, but was finding it very difficult not to hit and yell at him. They finally neared Jack and Maggie, whom the latter caught her eye.

"Clara?" She smiled. "Are you alright?"

Clara couldn't manage to get a word out, but stared like a deer in the head lights at her best friend's sister and the boy she longed for.

"She's perfect." Darcy said for her. "Actually, she was wondering if she could cut in Maggie, there's a whole line of boys waiting to dance over there with you."

Maggie stifled a giggle and nodded. As she went though, she grabbed Clara's palm and whispered. "Go get him girl."

Darcy excused himself and followed Maggie, leaving Clara shooting daggers into his back.

"Clara." Davey said, taking her by surprise.

"Oh, uh, hi!" There was a sense of madness to her and Davey had no idea how to react to it. "Sorry, about Darcy I mean. He's just kind of rude."

"I'm not offended. Don't worry." He took her by her waist softly, and smiled. "You wanted to dance didn't you?"

She was about to say something wild again, but mustered up the control to stop herself. She took a deep breath and returned the smile. "Yeah, I did."

They didn't really speak at all for a few moments, as they melded themselves into the loud chatter of the crowd. Davey however piped up first. "You know, the last time we spoke was when we were both at Jack's death bed."

She giggled. "Pneumonia, yes, I remember. I treated him while also being Katherine's personal tissue."

"That's right, you're a nurse huh?" She nodded and shuffled in a little closer to avoid a tray of glasses being hit into her head by a passing waiter. "I also recall being kind of rude as well that day. I think you noticed that."

Davey laughed. "Boy, did I ever. There he was dying and you were there gawking at him like a piece of meat."

She smacked his arm gently and rolled her eyes, embarrassed. "I work in a high paced hospital. We're trained not to feel sympathy for the patients. It becomes too hard to treat them otherwise."

"Fair enough."

They made small talk while waltzing lazy circles for a while. She hoped it had stayed like that though longer. Out of the corner of her eye, an up turned nose and far too arched brows became prominent. Dressed in peony and a bored look on her face, Marguerite Dubois stood with whom Clara assumed was her husband. There gaze locked however and although Clara tried darting her eyes away, Marguerite sauntered over with a devious smirk. Marie Pulitzer must have invited her, for she knew Katherine would never had wanted her to come herself.

"Clara?" Marguerite exclaimed. "I didn't recognise you. You tend to wash your self out in blue tones you know?"

"Hello Marguerite." She muttered in reply. Clara turned to the brunette she was clinging too. "Nicholas."

"Clara, it's been too long." His smile was dazzling, and the twinkle in his cool blue eyes set her off. She had remembered attending their wedding the year before. It was held in a much more lavish fashion, and their certainly hadn't been any newsboys present.

"And whose this, hm?" Marguerite interjected. "The young man you were telling us about at tea? How long have you been courting exactly?"

"Wait, courting?" Davey furrowed his brow and looked to Clara, confused.

"Oh, ahaha! He just means to say that he wants to take me for one more spin on the floor, don't you sweetheart?" She spent no time sashaying away, pushing against him forcefully to get away from Marguerite and her husband for minute. Scanning the room, she looked for Katherine, finding her still swaying in Jack's arms.

"Clara, what's going on?" Asked Davey, as she kept pulling him with her to the bride and groom.

"I'll tell you in a minute." The fiery girl who had been present when they first met was back, struck on by a sudden weight of pressure much like before. "Katherine!"

Her best friend tossed her head and smiled. "Clara! I haven't seen you all night. And Davey... Good to see you've found some good company, if you know what I mean." She giggled, tipsy from champagne, and just embarrassed Clara further.

Clara shot her a look. "Yes, alright thank you. You need to do something for me now though. A big favour, Jack you can help as well."

"What is it?" Sighed Jack. He looked like he didn't want to stop dancing with Katherine, and seemed irritated by her request.

"Marguerite and her husband. Can you please distract them? Just until we get out."

Davey kept getting more puzzled. "We?"

Clara ignored him and realised that her enemies were drawing closer. "Alright. Congratulations, I love you both, bye!"

She was off with Davey in a flash.

Jack looked at his wife, and she proceeded to do the same. They would have said something if Marguerite and Nicholas hadn't found their way over, smiles and snide remarks at the ready.

"Katherine, sweetheart! Look at you!" Squealed Marguerite. "And look, Jack even washed for the occasion!" She giggled like a hyena, Nicholas joining in too.

Jack glanced silently at Katherine before turning back to the girl. "Lovely to meet ya too."

"Jack, if you don't mind, I was going to take Katherine for a moment. I promise I'll return her in one piece, if you get my drift." Nicholas already had Katherine's wrist in his hands and walked off to place his hands a little too close to her behind for Jack's liking. He gritted his teeth at the sight of this man taking what was his and how he had made such derogatory comments about her to his face.

"Sweetheart, I'm always here if you need a pick up." Marguerite offered in that sickly, treacle like tone.

He rolled his eyes and longed for Katherine to return.

"Would you like to explain what's going on please?" Davey called to Clara as they slipped outside to the garden. It was approaching winter in New York and they weren't very equipped for the frosty grass and chilly night air that made them long for their coats they left inside.

"You want a full story or the abridged version?" She replied and pulled him down to sit on the stone bench at the back of the hedge.

"Full story if you don't mind." There was a sense of mockery in his tone and it crawled like ants on her skin.

She sighed and nodded. "That particularly irritating woman is Marguerite Dubois, and that man is Nicholas, her husband. Katherine and I went to school with her and we've never gotten along. Katherine thinks it's just because her father has a bigger publishing business than Marguerite's and that's why she's so bitter."

Davey laughed. "Who knew heiresses had such issues?"

"Yeah, well anyway, Katherine's mother held tea a week ago and she was just being catty as always. Insulting us both, picking on Jack, the usual. But then she started targeting me and saying that I'd always be working my whole life. That I'd never have a man." She said the last phrase quietly, but it still came across to Davey as the air was only heavy with their breathing.

"Let me get this straight." He started to chuckle. "You pretended that I was your boyfriend, so that you could prove that she was wrong?"

She nodded sheepishly. "I'm sorry I dragged you into this. I was rude, again. You don't have to keep going along with it, I'd understand if you wanted to leave. I'll just explain to-"

"Clara! Relax, I'm not going any where. I have no one waiting on me, I'll play beau for you." He took her hand and smiled. It was a warm, tender gesture and it made her skin flutter with goosebumps. He was such a good person compared to herself.

She raised her big blue eyes to his and bit her lip. "You'd do that?"

"Sure. If that's what you want." The gap between them grew smaller and Clara felt her lashes become heavy, her eyelids drooping half way down. "That's what you want isn't it?" His heart beat was abundant in her ears and the scent of the oil on his hair and the clean linen of his shirt wavered up her nose.

Clara felt his fingers carefully frame her jaw and tilt it upwards towards him. She couldn't tell if this was just him playing along, or if he genuinely wanted her.

Snapping back into focus and remembering he was still waiting for an answer, she whispered softly, "Yes."

She didn't remember when he kissed her, it sort of just melded into the memory as something so natural and right. His lips, slightly chapped however, were like butter against her own lipstick lacquered pair and he was so gentle that it made her want to stay in his embrace forever.

But forever seemed like a lifetime away as the door in front of them burst open with a crash revealing a distressed looking Jack, with his collar wrinkled and pushed open and lipstick peppered over his mouth and jaw.

"You's gotta help me!" He cried, not noticing what was going on between Clara and Davey. "That bitch is crazy!" He looked at Davey who had shuffled back from where he had been and sighed, running a hand through his hair. Jack grimaced. "Ah, shit. I'm interruptin' somethin' ain't I?"

Davey gave a long glare at his friend while Clara shook her head, pushing a lock of dirty blonde hair behind her ear. "No, we were just-"

Jack laughed and shook his head before joining them on the bench. "Nah, I get it. Kath and I expected it. It ain't news to me." He let out a long breath. "But Christ, can ya help me look half decent? That hoity toity Marguerite's a real too faced woman. Insults me to Kath's face every time, then the minute we get hitched, she's all over me. Common respect I tell ya."

"You better not let Katherine catch you like this. That would ruin everything." Clara laughed as she straightened his shirt. Jack made a face when she proceeded to lick her thumb and scrub the lipstick stains off his now five o'clock shadowed face.

"Would ya not, Clara?" He growled. "You's acting like my Ma, and it's demeaning to my ego."

"I'm sure we can keep a secret between us Jack." Davey pointed. He seemed eager to get Jack cleaned up and sent back in, as he was still on a edge a little from being interrupted.

"Don't be such a baby." Clara chided, focused on his chin. She removed the last stain and flicked him jokingly with her thumb and forefinger. "There. You're all clean."

"Oh, thanks. Now I gotta go help Katherine from the bitch's husband."

"Nicholas?"

"Yeah, real creep, huh?" He smoothed his hair and saluted Davey. "A'right, I'll let ya get back to whatever it was you's were doin'. No foolin' around or nothin' you two, ya hear?" There was a huge grin and he got up to go and return to the party inside.

Clara didn't let her eyes wander from his exit point. She felt a wave of awkwardness overcome her as she sat with Davey.

"I'm sorry I kissed you." She murmured.

"Huh?"

"I kissed you. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that."

Davey furrowed his brow and nudged her thigh to turn to him. "I kissed you just as much as you did. Why should it be your fault? Clara, don't tell me you didn't like it."

"No, no I did. It's just I pulled you into so much trouble, I didn't think that you'd... be interested in me."

"I'm as interested in you as asking to take you to dinner next Friday night."

Clara laughed softly and tucked the stray strand of blonde hair that had come loose from her bun behind her ear. "Dinner?" He couldn't be serious. She thought to herself that if she was Davey, having to deal with her antics, she would have left already and gotten the next train to wherever to get away.

"Dinner." He affirmed her. "There's a place Jack and I go sometimes on 51st street. Italian. They do really nice carbonara."

She bit her lip and stared wide eyed at him, not aware that she was carrying the heavy silence that came after his offer.

"I mean, if you don't want to..." The awkward, quieter boy was back and it made Clara smirk. She was beginning to get the upper hand once more, like she had when they had first met.

"I like carbonara." She said. "Pick me up at the hospital at eight?"

"Eight?"

"That's when my shift ends."

"Oh, right, yeah. You're a nurse, I ah, forgot. I go to law school around the block, it'll take me five minutes to walk to you."

"Ok lawyer. It's a date." She laughed, before laying a kiss on his cheek. She then stood up and outstretched her hand to him. "Now take me inside, I wanna dance."


	18. Society's Standards

At the Sun, reporters were each given a desk, all of which were spread in cubicles on the large top floor of the building. Printing specialists were also situated on the level, as well as editors in their own offices and along the back windows, the political cartoonists.

Jack had begun working alongside his wife a week prior as the new cartoonist. He enjoyed being able to see her at her desk working away, opposed to them only seeing each other for the few hours in the evening and morning before they parted their ways when he was still hawking headlines. He remained being the union leader however, unable to part completely from his boys.

He was watching Katherine behind her typewriter, clicking away on the article she had started as soon as they ended their honeymoon. Without her even glancing, he sauntered over and placed a fresh cup of steamy lemon tea on her desk that he had made in the lunch room before.

"Watcha writin' Plumber?" He asked trying take a peak at the sheet that fed through the top of the slick black lacquered machine.

"Missing person report." his wife replied blankly, not taking her eyes off the keys. "Due as soon as possible."

Jack sighed and nodded his head and was about to leave her alone, before he saw her finally catch the little porcelain tea cup. Her eyes widened at his kind gesture and she began to look guilty for being so dismissive. "Is this for me?"

He nodded. "I know ya like it strong. So I added half a lemon and used only a quarter of a sugar cube."

She stretched her neck to see if anyone was watching before she tugged on his black tie to kiss his lips briefly. "Thank you Jack."

"Ah, don't worry bout it doll. I'm ya husband, ain't I s'posed to be lookin after ya any way?"

She giggled and hit him on the chest playfully. "Now go back to your own desk, people are going to start looking."

"Okay, okay. I'm goin'." He grinned and stuffed his hands in his pockets, returning to his own spot.

He worked for about an hour on a strip before his hands began to ache from holding the rigid pens and brushes for so long. He noticed Darcy carrying a fistful of something and striding towards him.

"Hey Jack, I brought you new ink." Darcy smiled as he handed the little silver pots to him. "I noticed yours were getting rather dry."

"Oh, thanks Darc. I was just about to ask for more."

Darcy fiddled with his glasses on the bridge of his nose and sighed. "How's that house coming along?"

"It needs attention. But we's practically all furnished now. Katherine's just about to sign the papers to her landlord to give up renting her old place."

"Speaking of which, what do you think Dana is calling her in for?" He nodded his head to where Katherine was being escorted by one of the secretaries inside the frosted glass office of Mr. Charles Dana, the head of the Sun. The door closed softly with a click and they were suddenly blind to what was going on.

"Maybe she's getting a raise." Darcy didn't take his eye off the carved ornate wooden door and neither did Jack.

"Or maybe she's becoming redundant."

Darcy slowly turned his head to glare at Jack, an unfathomable look embedded in his features. "I like you Jack, but don't."

Jack shrugged and went back to his cartoon strip while Darcy shuffled back to his printers.

Back at the Kelly house later that night, Katherine had been abnormally quiet. They had gotten home

late and had made a quick dinner of pasta puttanesca together, which Jack volunteered to clean up to let her go and shower early.

He climbed up the two flights of stairs after drying his hands, then into the small black and white tiled bathroom that attached to their bedroom. Wrapped in only the cream towel around her torso, Katherine stood in the mirror combing through her wet long curls.

"Ready for bed kid?" He asked, leaning on the door frame.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, just let me put something on." She walked past him and went to her dresser to pull out one of her silk shifts which she proceeded to step into after discarding her towel to the floor.

"Or not y'know." He said gazing at her exposed, fragrant skin.

She gave him a look but giggled all the same. "Stop it."

After changing for bed himself, they climbed into each side of the king sized bed and shuffled into one another to get comfortable, until the sound of cotton crumpling was replaced with the still silence of the dark room.

When Jack thought she had fallen asleep, she murmured quietly to the ceiling. "Dana fired me."

"What?"

"H-he fired me. I lost my job at work today." Her tone was shaky, like she was forcing tears back down.

Jack sat up and tugged her waist so that she sat in his lap and wrapped his arms tight around her. She began to sob softly into his bare chest and he hushed her gently. "Sweetheart, hey. It's ok."

"No, it's not. Nothing about this is ok Jack."

"Did Dana have a reason? I thought your last articles were all successes. The boys said they had no trouble selling them at all."

She sniffed and raised her head slightly. "He said that I'm not useful to the paper anymore now that I'm married. They need someone with no distractions."

"That's bullshit." He raised his voice suddenly and it made Katherine jump. He kissed her hair in apology, whispering sorry several times in her damp tresses. "I mean, he can't do that. You're twice as valuable as any of those assholes who work there."

"He's right though Jack." She cried. "I've got this big house to look after and of course you to think about. Hell, I'm sure it won't be long till we have a baby too."

"Ace honey, ya can't let him get in ya head. He don't know you like I do, the way you handle everything. A full time career, looking after me and the boys, living by yourself all those years. If Dana says you can't do it all, then no one can."

She didn't respond, only continuing to cry into him. Jack didn't say anything more either but squeezed her tight and pulled the covers over them both. It didn't take long before she wore herself out and he was lulled to sleep by her soft snores.

"Katherine c'mon." Jack nudged her shoulder the next morning, while she still slept in their bed. He was up and dressed for work already and needed Katherine to be too. "Ya gotta get up."

There was a murmur of defiance and she hid herself under the duvet further. Jack sighed. "We's gonna face Dana together and get your job back." She seemed to have gone back to sleep by the lack of grunting and movement, so he bit the bullet and did what he knew he was going to regret doing straight away.

"Get off!" She moaned under the sudden weight of her husband as he jumped atop of her. She began thrashing her arms, her pink painted fingernails threatening to rake out an artery or an eyeball of Jack's.

"I'm not getting off you till you promise to come with me." He stated plainly.

She was flat on her tummy and growled whilst blowing a wisp of hair out of her vision. "I'm not going to beg from him."

"Then don't. But ya can still comprise cant'cha?"

There was a grit of her teeth. "If I get up will you please stop grinding yourself on me? I can feel you as clear as day."

Jack laughed into her neck and pushed himself against her once more in spite before letting her free.

"Jack!"

"Don't act like you don't like it." He laughed harder and she joined in after whacking his head. Jack got up and kissed her briefly and then went to the dresser at the back of the room and began picking out an outfit for her.

"No, that skirt's ugly." She whined, as he held up the long dark green fabric in his hands.

Jack made a face. "Then why'd ya buy it?"

"It looked nice on the rack. Can you just get me that grey tweed one?"

He threw it at her along with a fresh chemise and a white cotton blouse which she changed into quickly.

Jack picked up her hairbrush from her vanity and gestured for her to come to him where he proceeded to run it gently through her thick, loose curls.

"You know I am capable of doing this myself." She hissed as the brush snagged over a knot at the base of her scalp. "You don't have to play mommy with me."

"Just tryna speed things up sweetheart." With a pin or two pushed into her crown to fix it in place, he had her by the hand and hurried them both to the office.

"Mr. Dana, my wife would like to speak to you privately please." Jack announced as he pulled Katherine swiftly and boldly into their boss's office. The man looked up from behind a stack of documents, spectacled eyes narrowing at well dressed girl and her husband.

"Mrs. Kelly, I thought I made myself quite clear-"

"She only wants a minute of your time sir. Surely you can give her that."

Dana looked Jack over with repulse and then flickered his gaze back to Katherine, who stood wide eyes, clutching onto Jacks hand tightly. "Very well then. I'd go make yourself useful then Mr. Kelly." Jack nodded and was hesitant about leaving her, but exited the room never the less.

Dana gestured for Katherine to take a seat in the oxblood Chesterfield armchair. "Your husband is very strong headed."

"I'm sorry-"

"Don't apologise. Just speak."

"Mr. Dana, sir, I need my job. Financially my husband and I can't get by on only his income."

"Is that the only reason Mrs. Kelly?"

Katherine looked down to her lap. "No, sir. I love being a reporter."

Dana pressed the bridge of his nose with his fingers and sighed. There was an air of tiredness in his demeanour, like he had already had enough of hearing her talk even though she had only just begun.

"You make a very good reporter I admit, but as I said yesterday, that is the only thing I'm looking for in an employee here at this publishing firm. I can't have my deadlines being extended or missed due to distractions from a house and family-"

"Mr. Dana!" She interrupted all too boldly. He was taken aback by her new found fire and cocked his head to the side, as if to provoke her to be even more daring. "I am a woman, a wife and an employee. In a society where am I obliged to be something respectable, why must I choose between the house and the work force? We've just welcomed the new century along with new opportunities for the lifestyles of females, why is it that this publishing firm refuses to take part in any of it?"

Dana was silent, taken aback by her. It took moments before he lit a cigar from his desk draw and brought it to his lips, responding flatly through the thick brown wrapped tobacco. "You're a tough woman Mrs. Kelly. I will give you that. I understand that you love your husband as much as you love your job." Katherine said nothing but only raised a brow. "Do you plan on having children as well?"

She pursed her lips. "When Mr. Kelly and I feel that the time is right."

He raised a small smile. "I'm only curious. You can have your job back, Mrs. Kelly. It seems I'm out dated in terms of today's new standards and trends for working women."

"Would ya look at that. First day back on the job and she's almost finished a brand new article." Jack grinned from behind his wife, where she sat typing away at her desk at home. "Enlighten me princess, whatcha writin about?"

"Missing person." She said softly. "Working girl in Harlem. Last seen a week ago."

Jack shifted his jaw uncomfortably. "Working girl? You mean a-"

"Yes, a prostitute. Awful isn't it?"

He sighed and placed his hands on her shoulders, rubbing her skin as he peered over to look at the document that fed out from her typewriter. His eyes began scanning the page for a name which he found smudged slightly and in the bottom half of the first paragraph. His breath hitched.

"What's wrong Jack?" Katherine turned her head slightly towards him.

Jack could tell her so many things that were wrong. One being that this working girl, Lila Harris, aged nineteen and a half, was someone he knew all too well. Before Katherine came along, Jack hadn't ever been serious about girls, with exception to Lila, the on again off again girl he saw from time to time at the back door of Miss Milly's lounge. The place was notorious for eligible bachelors like Bill Hearst and Nicholas Dubois to find pleasure in women other than their wives. It was a place he had never even walked through the doors, but that didn't stop him from seeking Lila's company in the back alleys. To hear that she was missing made his chest feel terribly numb. It wasn't the kind of discomfort he'd feel if Katherine were missing, but a long and distant kind of melancholy, like a dull strike to the face. "Nothing sweetheart. Just a tragedy that's all." Jack pressed a kiss to her neck and switched his mouth to a smile. "How bout you and I go to bed, huh? Celebrate for gettin through all the shit that we went through these past two days."

Katherine giggled and let him pick her up, taking her across the hall to the bedroom, but as Jack gave his all to her that night, he couldn't keep his mind from Lila Harris and what ditch she was probably dying or dead in.


	19. Intruder

"I want to go Jack." Katherine whined from the grey covers as she watched him pull on his clothes for work.

Standing only in his trousers and pulling on a crisp white shirt on his back, he shook his head. "You ain't gonna, Ace. Ya sick as a dog, stay in bed."

She groaned. "I need to work."

"No, you don't. You need to take care of ya self. Stay." He walked over to her bedside and gestured for her to help with his top half. She placed her hands on his bare chest and nuzzled her nose into him. "Please baby."

He chuckled and kissed her auburn head. "No. Just do my shirt and tie please."

She rolled her eyes and began buttoning his shirt then went onto knotting his tie tightly around his neck. "I'm not even that sick. I vomited once-" Katherine would have kept speaking if the new wave of nausea didn't overwhelm her and send her bolting to the toilet bowl adjacent to their bedroom.

On her knees heaving her stomach contents, she felt Jack's rough hands pull her hair from her face and rub the small of her back. "Easy girl," he murmured. "Take it easy."

She was panting as soon as she finished retching, and rested her forehead on the porcelain edge, beaten as hell. "Maybe I should stay home."

After seeing to that she was tucked in bed with a pan in case she were sick again, a glass of water and several thick novels, Jack had left for work with the clear instructions that she rang his desk the minute she needed help. She had napped the entire morning, waking only in the afternoon to get up and dial Jack on the kitchen telephone.

He picked up on the first ring. "Katherine? What's wrong?"

"Calm down, I'm not sick anymore. I'm only bored. Do you have time to talk?"

There was a sigh and she could swear she could feel Jack roll his eyes at the end of the line. "Sweetheart, I'm working. I can't draw and talk at the same time. I can come home if you want me to."

"No," she replied hastily. "I'm fine. I'll let you get back to work. See you at home?"

"For sure darlin'. I love you, now go rest."

She smiled and whispered an, "I love you too" in reply before putting the telephone back on the cradle. She dragged her feet along the floorboards and climbed back to bed, knowing that there was nothing useful for her to do today anyway.

She awoke sometime later to the sound of what she suspected was pots or pans in the kitchen clattering to the floor. Fear spread through her veins, remembering the horror stories that their neighbours had told them about the street and its numerous break ins. Across the street, the Newmans had been robbed of jewellery and stowed away cash in the vault kept under the kitchen sink. The Pickorings three doors down had lost a mother and little girl while they had been sleeping, a rifle attack from an escaped patient from the nearby bedlam. What if that crashing crockery was from another lunatic like that?

Katherine took a deep breath and silently pulled the covers off her, slipped on her silk robe and grabbed the pan Jack had left her. She stepped on her toes down the hall, slowly edging herself to the source of the disturbance, pan raised in defence.

"Who's there?" She said shakily from behind the wall corner. There was no response, but she heard footsteps still. "My husband will be home any minute, and I won't hesitate calling the police." She stepped out quickly with her jaw clenched and her fists doing the same around the pan handle, ready to strike.

She must have admitted, the intruder was not at all who she expected. She pictured a toothless, balding poorly dressed criminal, but in its place stood a girl not much older than she. Snow blonde hair fell in knots around her ribs and her face was nicked with cuts and grazes, smudged with dirt that matched the same on her clothing. Behind tendrils of hair, her ice blue eyes were shot with fear and shock, which seemed multiplied by being found by Katherine. "P-please-" she murmured.

Katherine lowered the pan. "What are you doing in my house?"

"Please don't hit me," she sniffed. "I-I was told he lived here."

"Who lived here?" she narrowed her eyes.

"Jack. I was told Jack lived here."

"Jack Francis Kelly, you get your ass home now." She hissed into the telephone.

"Ace, what's goin on? Are you ok?"

"Oh I am perfectly fine. I don't know about the girl in our kitchen though, who claims that she needs to see you and only you." Enraged, she glanced back to the girl who sat cross legged uncomfortably on the couch in the living room. "Come home now, I swear to God Jack."

Concerned for his own safety, Jack made it home quickly. When she swung the front door open she crossed her arms tightly against her chest and formed her mouth into a hard line. "Don't you dare try this shit on me Jack."

"Ace-"

"No, don't you Ace me!" She screamed. "I don't know what you take me for, but I god damn hope it's not an idiot, because that is something that I am not."

Jack tried to stroke her arm, comfort her, but she jerked away from him. "Don't you dare touch me!"

"You're acting like a god damn idiot then Katherine!" He fired back. "If you'd let me speak, you'd hear me out and know that I have no idea who this girl is and that I love you and only you."

"Jack?" They turned to see the girl in the hall way, standing for a moment before running past Katherine and wrapping her arms around Jack. She gripped his jaw with all ten battered digits and grinned with tears brimming in those big blue eyes. She crashed her lips onto his so suddenly that he had no time to react fast enough to stop her.

"You love me huh?" Katherine murmured from behind the two, fuming. Jack pulled himself off the girl and ran a hand through his hair. "Lila, ya can't do that. I'm a married man." He kept glancing to Katherine as if to prove that he wasn't encouraging any of this. "What the hell are ya doin here?"

"I-I needed help. You can't let them find me, please don't let them find me." She sounded delusional.

"Who Lila?"

"I don't know, two men. They're looking for me. I-I made it out of that shit hole but they want me back."

"Would someone please explain what the hell's going on?" Katherine demanded.

Jack turned to her and licked his lips. "Katherine, please let me explain." She nodded once, but still kept the ice cold composure. "This is Lila Harris, a friend from a long time ago."

"Lila Harris? As in the Lila Harris that's in my article?"

"In the flesh. But I swear anything between us ended a long time ago before I met you. There is nothing still there."

She nodded again, but had switched her attention to Lila, who stood with her lip quivering. Katherine took a step towards her. "What are you doing here?"

She sniffed. "I need shelter. I don't have anywhere else to go. Jack, I asked the boys where you lived and they sent me here. Please just give me a few days, I'll be gone then."

"Stay as long as you need." Jack said said softly. "You need anything you come to me. There's a room upstairs, first to your left." Lila nodded and hurried up the wooden staircase, leaving Katherine glaring at Jack.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" She asked plainly.

"Sweetheart-"

"When I married you I didn't sign up for baggage like this. Are there any more homeless girls you've fucked that I should know about?"

He tensed hearing her say that vulgar word, something only he would say when he was blue with rage. "Ya knew who I was before I met you. But I ain't that guy today. I married ya because I love ya and no other girl."

Tears began to pool in Katherine's eyes and she raised a hand to strike his cheek harshly. "Don't come to bed tonight. I'm sure you'll be fine crawling into hers."

"Katherine!" He yelled, but she had already left up the staircase to their room.

Katherine woke up alone the next morning and for a brief moment wondered why. It came to her later however the proceedings of the following evening and how Jack had ended up on the couch and how another girl now resided in the house.

Disgruntled, she walked down to the kitchen and found a note slipped under the bag of coffee beans in Jack's childish scrawl. 'Gone to work. Letting Dana know you're sick again. Take it easy, we can talk when I get home. Love always, Jack.'

She sighed and crumpled it into a ball before projecting it into the nearby trash can. She wasn't going to forgive him so easily for allowing Lila to stay after the history he had with her. Besides, it was her house too and he didn't even ask for her consent.

She went on to brew coffee for herself but as she brought the mug to her lips, the waft sent her stomach spinning with nausea and she dropped it to the floor with a shatter, collapsing over the sink where she began hurling her stomach out in vomit.

"Are you ok?" Lila's voice called from behind her and she strode over quickly to aid Katherine. "Can I get you a glass of water?"

Katherine only nodded, too out of breath to speak. She sipped on the glass and glared at Lila who seemed to had showered, but her hair was still a blonde tangle. "I'm just sick. That's all." She said finally in a small voice. Lila nodded and went to head back to her room, but Katherine grabbed her wrist. "Did Jack say anything more to you?"

"N-no. He just made sure I was comfortable last night-"

Katherine felt hot in her chest. "He made sure you were comfortable? And how did he make sure you were comfortable, huh? I swear to god. He may have said that you are welcome in this house, but that doesn't mean I think the same at all. He's my husband and if you think you can waltz in here and take him you are so mistaken. And don't come and act like you're helping me. I'm not your friend, stay out of my way." Katherine slammed the glass down on the bench and strode quickly out of the kitchen to go to find Jack at the Sun.

On arrival, she was told that her husband had left for lunch, which made her growl to herself a little. She was about to leave when she caught Darcy about to walk past her at the door. She took his arm and hugged him. "Darcy!"

"Woah, Kitty! What's going on?" He chuckled and returned the embrace. "Jack told me you were sick."

"Are you free for lunch?" She asked, ignoring him.

"Yeah, I've got time."

They went to Jacobi's, sitting at one of the booths in the crowded cafe. Darcy ordered tea and a club sandwich for himself while Katherine ordered the same along with a large milkshake and two sides of French fries.

"Hungry, darling?" He mused as he watched her take a fistful of the golden fries, which she washed down with her milkshake.

"I don't know, I'm just starving."

"Did you want to talk about something?" He took her hand from across the table and offered a warm smile. She would have explained everything if she hadn't been seized by the shoulders by someone behind her. She spun around to see Clara in tow with Davey beaming from above her. "Kitty!"

"Clara, what are you doing here?" She marvelled, equally as happy to see her friend. "And with Davey?"

"We're getting lunch, do you mind if we sit?"

"Go ahead." They both filed in the booth alongside her and Darcy, and sat in silence for a moment before Clara broke it. "Were you about to say something, Katherine?"

"No she just-" Darcy tried to respect her privacy but Katherine just waved him away with her hand.

"It isn't a secret Darc," she sighed. "They can hear it too I guess." She rested her chin on her fist and began telling the recounts of the previous evening, skimming lightly on her current fight with Jack.

Davey was the first to speak, whilst taking one of her fries. "So is Jack encouraging all of this?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. He keeps apologising but he shouldn't have let the girl stay in the first place."

"She probably has nowhere else to go Katherine."

"Well I don't care. She most likely got herself into that mess and it's not my responsibility to get her out." Her tone was cool and she continued to pick at her fries, demonstrating how little she cared for this girl. It was picked up by the others quickly and they all fell silent. Davey however, furrowed his brows and kept going. "Weren't you in that kind of mess not too long ago?" She hinted what he meant and glared a seething stare to get him to shut his mouth, but he didn't intend to any time soon. "If I recall, being abducted, abused and called missing is something you share in common with her-"

"Davey!" Clara scowled. He murmured a sorry, but Katherine knew he meant every word. In truth, his message hit her hard, and she began to feel a hint of guilt build in her gut. When she had been taken by the Delancey brothers all those months ago, she had been at her lowest. Abused, drugged and starved at the refuge, she had developed a hard shell, which was now starting to crack from developing sympathy for Lila. She was probably still as frightened as Katherine had been.

"Sorry. I'm just out of whack these few days." She murmured softly. "You can have my food if you want." She pushed the plates towards Clara and Davey, and burrowed herself further into the booth.

"I thought you were hungry." mused Darcy.

She shook her head. "I think I lost my appetite. Darcy, we need to get back to work." She was already up before Clara and Davey could protest and had Darcy by the hand, dragging him out the door.

When they were on the street, she brought him into the alley next to Jacobi's and immediately pressed herself against the bricks, her stomach churning.

"Kitty, we've got a whole hour before we have to be back, what gives?" He noticed her squinting her eyes and the odd shade of green she had begun sporting. "Jesus, are you ok?"

She didn't reply, but only vomited an inch away from his brown leather shoes. He quickly took hold of her arched back and pushed her hair from her face and she eventually ceased and caught her breath. "S-sorry Darc."

He offered her his handkerchief from his breast pocket and dabbed her mouth with it. "Not a problem." He focused intently on her face and placed the back of his hand to her forehead. "You don't have a fever. And you've been feeling fine pretty much all day. Increased appetite..."

"I don't know what you're going with here."

"Kitty I think we should go see a doctor."

Darcy had taken her home after seeing one of her father's doctors nearby the World's publishing house and she had sat in the cab with him quietly. She didn't know what to say, she should have seen it coming, after all herself and Jack weren't adamant to making love to one another after all. They would go at it at every right moment they had alone with one another. And in truth, she knew it would happen, just not so soon.

She had been keeping herself busy all afternoon, cleaning the house and cooking dinner. When she heard the door unlock downstairs she was continuing to fold a basket of his clothing to put into his chest of draws, the same basket she'd been working on for the past hour. There was the thud of his distinct heavy footsteps coming from the stairs, but she paid no attention to it, especially when he strode in the room eventually and began taking off his hat and coat.

"Hey." He greeted her.

She slipped two of his grey woollen socks together and chucked them his way. "Can you put these away please?"

He did as she asked but her tone seemed to make him frustrated by the agitated sigh and the narrowing of his eyes. "I see nothin's changed since last night."

"Shut up, Jack."

"Hey, don't you tell me to shut up!" The calm was gone and replaced by a fiery yell. It made Katherine jump slightly; she hadn't expected this. "I'm sick of this Katherine! I explain everything to ya and I assure ya that Lila ain't here to take me away, but ya can't get that through ya stubborn head can ya? It's like talkin' to a broken record." He edged closer towards her and grabbed the rest of his clothing. "What you are is jealous. That's all you are. You've been given everything by ya daddy all your life and the minute someone threatens to take something away ya turn into this fucking brat-"

"I said shut up!" She screeched and began thrashing her arms at his chest to push him away. Jack saw her coming however and clutched her by the root of her hair and raised his other to strike her square in the jaw. Blinded by pain and shock, Katherine began to sob and fell into the covers of the bed. Jack had never hit her, he wasn't that kind of man, and to see him now made her heart wrench inside. "You can't hit me." She whimpered.

"I-I didn't mean to-" he stammered.

There was an inaudible cry of something into the cotton and he placed a hand on her shoulder cautiously to roll her over. "Katherine?"

"You can't hit me." She repeated slowly, before bursting into hot tears again. "I'm pregnant."

Jack couldn't get his mouth to produce words. The only thing he could do was wrap his arms tightly around her and let her bury her head into his neck, murmuring apologies as she continued to cry hot, salty tears into his shirt.

They stayed up till the early hours of the morning, both unable to sleep. At one point Katherine kissed his collar bone in the dark room and whispered, "I know you didn't mean to hit me."

"Ya do?"

"Yes. You were angry and I don't blame you. I was being unreasonable."

He sighed and she stroked a hand over his chest. "What's wrong Jack?"

"You can't just forgive me like that. I did somethin tonight that was somethin only my father would do." There was an uneasy silence, but he could tell Katherine was waiting for him to go on. "My pa wasn't exactly father of the year. Angry old bastard, immigrant with a chip on his shoulder. Sure he loved my Ma, but he still believed that she had her place, and he put her in it often enough. I was twelve when she caught the consumption, and he had no one to smack around no more, so he began to turn to me and my sisters."

"Sisters?" Katherine asked. She didn't know he had siblings at all.

"Aileen, Nora and Catriona. Eight, six and three. I tried to take most of the hits for them, but there were times where I was with my Ma when she need taking care of, and I couldn't be there. Then the sick caught on with them, Catriona first and then Aileen and Nora. After weeks of living in their own sickness, they's went one by one. I took off to the streets before the funerals, I wasn't going to put up with him taking his anger out on me because of them."

Katherine combed her fingers through his dark, thick hair. "You're not going to become your father Jack."

He nodded and took her against him tighter. "You're positive this time that you are expecting?"

She laughed quietly. "Yes. I'm completely positive." The laughter died down and she furrowed her brows together. "This is what you want isn't it? To have a baby?"

"Of course I do. A kid that's gonna look just like you, why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know, I feel like you're going to get more of a look in than me. Darker genes are dominant you know." Jack chuckled and kissed her temple, bringing her in tighter to finally fall into the sleep they'd missed out on from the last while.

Taking another day off, Katherine had dedicated her time to cleaning the house. From what her mother had explained on the telephone when she rang her of the news of her pregnancy was that children were messy, so she figured she should make good habits quickly. Katherine had asked her mother not to tell her father as she wasn't sure how he'd take it. She'd tell him when she was ready and in her own time.

As she was wiping down the mirror in the bathroom on the second floor, she spotted Lila's messy blonde mane in the reflection.

She stood at the doorway, cautious of whether or not to come in. "Did you want me to help you clean?" She asked as if her throat was padded with marshmallows.

Katherine smiled. "You know, your hair will mat eventually if you keep it like that." She set down her cloth and bottled detergent and turned to face Lila. "And, no. I'm capable of all this. Come over here, I'll fix your hair."

Unsure, Lila hesitantly walked over to sit down on the stool Katherine had placed next to the porcelain tub. There was a creak from the tap before it was gushing warm water which Katherine gently angled her head under, so that her hair began to soak quickly and become heavy in her fingers. She reached for the shampoo bottle and began to massage a foamy lather focusing to clean every patch of her scalp she could.

"I'm sorry." Katherine apologised finally. "How I've treated you hasn't been nice at all and I understand that you aren't who I thought you were at first."

"Oh, no. It's fine." Lila replied. "I know I would have too if someone did the same to me."

Katherine began to rinse out the bubbles and replace them with the violet scented conditioner she kept on the bathtub ledge. "No, really, I'm sorry. I was...hormonal. Over dramatic you could say"

"Hormonal?"

Katherine laughed and offered a wide smile. "I'm not really sick. I found out yesterday that I'm expecting a baby."

Lila smiled too this time. "That's wonderful. I can imagine Jack's elated. I always said he'd make a good father one day."

"I think so too." She rinsed out the creaminess from root to tips until the blonde curls felt like silk to the touch. Using her own silver brush, Katherine started on gently tugging out the knots. " I find that brushing it while it's wet makes it easier."

"Oh, ok."

At Jack's desk the next day, Katherine sat perched upon the oak surface with a mug of tea in her hand. She was on her break and decided to spend it with her husband even if he was still working.

"Lila left this morning." She stated over the lip of her mug. "She said it was safe enough for her to go back out by herself."

"Are you happy about that?" He asked.

She raised a small smile but shook her head. "No. She was a lovely girl."

Jack grinned with her whilst inking the page in front of him. "I'm glad ya think so Ace."

Katherine shifted herself so that her skirt sat straight and fluttered her dark lashes down to her lap. "Jack?"

"Yes sweetheart?"

"Do you think the two men looking for Lila were linked to my abduction?" She said it so softly he had to concentrate hard to hear her, putting down his pen to the paper. "Ah, Katherine-"

"Its only a theory. It's just the Delanceys were two men. They went out looking for me." Her voice cracked and she swallowed back tears. "I-it's just that if they're back out there on the streets, they know where we work. And with me carrying this baby now-"

"Hey, listen to me," he was standing now and had her jaw in his fingertips, thumbs brushing away salty tears. "I don't care what kinda psycho maniac is out there, but it's my job to make sure that you stay safe. You and our baby. I ain't gonna let anyone hurt you." Katherine burrowed her self into his shirt and he returned the gesture with tight, warm arms, kissing her hair. "I love you Katherine."

She didn't respond, but he could tell she was saying the words back by the way she constricted herself tighter around his middle. The truth was, he didn't know if the Delanceys were back on the streets working for Snyder or not again, but he did know where his responsibilities lay, and that was Katherine. That was his best he could put out for her, and that was going to have to do.


	20. Breaking it In

**Oh my god finally Layla. Good one. Been a while, you suck. Whatever, I've been at school concentrating on my academia. That's good right? I'll stop rambling, read on, next chapters about half done already. **

The crackling of bacon echoed against the frying pan, but only the thick burning scent was noticed for all of the noise in Jack and Katherine's kitchen. The 12 seated oak table had been filled out by newsies and those who didn't fit opted to stand around with plates in hand, waiting for the contents of Katherine's pan to be distributed between them. Since moving into the large house, her and Jack had been making it a tradition to invite everyone over from the lodge house for Sunday morning breakfast.

"Race would'ya get ya feet off the table?" Jack scowled and whacked the back of his friend's head as he swept by with Les's empty plate.

"Wait Jack!" Called Les who tailed behind him. "Don't wash my plate I want more!"

Jack chuckled and knelt to hand over the thin porcelain. "Here ya go ya big guts. Now go to Kathy and ask nicely-"

"Kathy I want more bacon!" Les hollered and Jack just shook his head. The kitchen was chaos with so many people. Why did he ever think this was a good idea in the first place?

"That's your third plate Les, I swear you ate the majority of the whole pig." Katherine giggled over the stove but shovelled two rashers onto the boy's plate never the less. He hurried back to the table where David and the other older boys sat and tucked in quickly.

"How's your stomach feelin?" She felt Jack whisper into her ear from behind her, leaning against the bench on one hand and the other placed firmly over her navel. He was obviously referring to her new found morning sickness. As of the last few days, she had become more sensitive to smells, which usually brought on a frequent trip to the toilet bowl.

"I'm ok." She smiled, however feeling slightly queasy at the scent of meat and eggs and buttered toast she had in front of her. She didn't want to say anything though, there were so many people there who didn't know.

He nodded, kissed her shoulder and went to go fill another pitcher with orange juice.

"Hey Plums!" Called Race after everyone had their hands over achingly full bellies. "What's with the decent spread?"

Specs second on his statement. "Yeah, usually you and Jack skimp out on us now you's all married and everythin'."

"I wouldn't call last week's pancake stack out skimpin' out Specs." Shot Albert, finding himself glassy eyed in reflection of the fluffy flat cakes that Katherine and Clara had flipped so well that it seemed to have somersaulted into his belly barely touching the plate. Across the room, longing groans echoed in agreement.

"I don't know." Katherine shrugged towards Race. "I feel like you guys need some mothering sometimes." She thought to herself that it wouldn't be bad to practice mothering herself too.

"Well sign me up mom." He chuckled. "If it means eating like this every week."

"I don't know if there's gonna be enough room in this place soon for you to eat here every week." Jack smirked quietly to himself. However, he wasn't as quiet as he thought as Katherine shot him an alarmed look.

"Whad'ya mean by that Jackie?" Finch squinted.

"I ah-"

Romeo caught him up. "Yeah, whad'ya mean not enough room? Don't make no sense to me."

"Ah-"

"Maybe Kathy's parents are movin in."

"No-"

"Her sisters?"

"What? No-"

"You's are both gettin a dog."

"Nobody is movin in and nobody is gettin a damn dog!" Jack yelled finally and the flame of hysteria died down to a small ember of confusion.

"Then what's goin on?" Asked Elmer.

Jack looked for Katherine's gaze to seek help and she just sighed and shook her head. There was a small smile on her satin sheened lips and she set her back against the counter. "I'm pregnant." She said. "Jack and I are expecting a baby."

The room fell silent for a moment, before a wave of cheering replaced it.

"Jack why didn't ya tell us earlier?" Laughed Crutchie.

He grinned. "We were gonna wait, but I guess that fell through."

Crutchie turned to Katherine. "Lemme guess. Ya dad has no idea."

"Correct." She frowned. "I don't know what war he'll start if he finds out from someone else though. God, what am I going to do?"

"Well y'know seeing as Jack is the father of this kid, maybe he can go with ya to Pulitzer's office and ya can both talk it out."

"Oh, no I ain't." Jack said flatly. "The kid ain't gonna have a father if I'm there to break it to him."

"Oh don't be stupid Jack. We're married adults. There's nothing he can do but congratulate us." Katherine scowled. "Besides, you have to, it's half your fault I'm pregnant in the first place."

There were sniggers and chuckles dotted around the room from the boys, causing Jack to rub his face in his hands. He groaned, "alright, alright. You'd better get dressed quick though if we wanna leave now. I wanna get this out of the way as fast as possible."

After the boys had left, Jack and Katherine had left quickly to visit the Pulitzer mansion on the other side of town. It was a Sunday and the only day her father left his office fully at the World.

After waiting at the front door, hands clutched in one another, it finally swung open to reveal Marie Pulitzer, grinning from ear to ear.

"Katherine! Jack! What are you two doing here?"

"Hello mother," Katherine smiled and gave her a warm embrace. "We were in the neighbourhood and-" she would have finished if Jack hadn't snorted behind her. "What's wrong with you?" She turned and narrowed her eyes at her husband.

"Oh sorry, I'm just laughin' because we specifically left the house quickly to be in this particular neighbourhood at this particular moment in time."

She rolled her eyes and turned back to her mother. "Don't listen to him, he's being smart. We did come to you for a reason."

"It's about the baby isn't it?"

Her daughter nodded. "I think it's time we told father."

Marie bit her lip, and gently placed her slender fingers over Katherine's still flat belly. "He's in his study. You've come at the wrong time though, he's been in a sour mood all morning."

"How has he been lately though? With his heart I mean."

There was a stiff silence again before Marie ushered them both inside and lead them to the living room.

"It's just deteriorating him." She sighed, once sitting down with them both on the pale blue velvet sofa. "He can barely have a conversation with me with out looking like he's going to collapse."

"Katherine, maybe we's should come back another day." Jack said softly.

"No, I think it's best you tell him today." Marie replied.

Katherine took hold of Jack's hand and readied herself to stand. "Come on Jack, let's go to his study."

"What?" Pulitzer said briskly from behind a stack of papers as Jack rapped a fist on the door, Katherine close under his raised arm.

"Father?" Katherine said quietly. "Are you busy?"

"Oh, it's just you." He barely looked up above his gold wired spectacles. He did however nod his head towards them. "Jack."

"Mr. Pulitzer sir."

"Can I help you two?"

Katherine stepped into the room and pulled out the two mahogany arm chairs from the front of his desk. They were seated when she sighed and pushed a stray piece of auburn hair out of her eyes. "Father we need to talk to you," she glanced at Jack. "Both of us."

"Go on then."

"This is something I need you to hear me out on. Please just take a few breaths-"

Pulitzer had his head raised now. "Katherine just spit it out."

She felt Jack squeeze her hand and she started to panic. Maybe he could do more than just congratulate them. Feeling her father's intense gaze embed itself onto her, she shifted herself in her chair and cleared her throat. "Father, I'm pregnant."

Jack noticed her father's knuckles turn white around his pen, and his stare moving from Katherine towards him. "Pregnant?" His tone was cool, but he felt it could easily tip over into a flaming rage with any slight movement, so he and Katherine remained perfectly still.

"Yes, I'm six weeks along." She gently confirmed.

He didn't say anything in return but still lingered his eyes on Jack, whom he must have believed was the main culprit of this sudden news.

Katherine, sensing the rising tension, continued hastily. "We would have told you sooner, but we were so shocked ourselves and we were so busy getting the house in order and work-"

"You were shocked? So this wasn't planned I assume?"

"Well, no-"

"Did you think about how this will affect both of your lives at all? In nine months time I can assure you Katherine that you'll be too busy to be working. Jack, you know that you can't support my daughter on just your salary."

"In all due respect sir, we'll get by. I'm earnin twice the amount I started off with now that I'm commissioning double the strips for the Sun. Besides I don't think Katherine has to give up her career. Dana's offerin her maternity leave for a while after the kid's born and after that she's able to work from home." It was the most Jack had said in a long time, and it looked like it had struck a nerve with Pulitzer.

"You think that just because you married her, you have become some kind of adult. You're merely eighteen and she's only a year behind, you're both still children yourselves. I'd understand if you were doing this in a few years or so, but you only just wedded. Do you know the damage your causing to our family's reputation?"

"I don't care about our family's reputation!" Katherine snapped. "I'm a married, grown woman and you are in no obligation to tell me what I can or can't do. I'm having this baby father, and I'm asking you once and only once now for your support."

He milled over what she said for what seemed like eternity. His expression had softened and he had released his grip of his desk. "This is big news Katherine." He said slowly.

"I know, and we want you to be part of it. Please father."

He sighed, and finally raised a small flicker of a smile. "Congratulations you two."


	21. There's Always a First for Everything

**Haha don't worry, I don't like my tardiness either! Here ya go any way. **

**Love to the bone forever,**

**Layla**

Katherine woke to Jack's strong, lean frame forked behind her own, a thick duvet weighting them down into the mattress. Their limbs were intertwined and couldn't get closer and the duvet was brought up to their chins. The only explanation was that it was cold in New York. Very, very cold.

Katherine fluttered one eye lid open to look at the window, which had frosted and was being currently assaulted with soft white pellets of snow. She closed her lid and tried to shuffle into a more comfortable position, but she heard Jack's half asleep groan as he held her tighter and made sure she was still. "Don't move," he whined. "We're gonna lose all the body heat we made in the blanket."

"I'm not comfy Jack."

"Well, here, hold on." As if they were one mass, he turned them over to the other side with out losing any contact on their skin. "Better?"

She kissed his wrist. "Thank you."

She felt his chest rub against her back, friction rising and warming them both up in only the slightest way. His arms did the same against her own and he growled, murmuring, "Still goddamn cold."

"You should have put a heater in the house when we moved in."

"Tell me to do it when we got that kinda money." He had lit the fireplace last night, but unfortunately it was a single chimney that remained on the bottom floor in the sitting room. None of the heat from the flames escaped past the small area and Katherine had often complained that it was a 'waste of space'. But then again, at sixteen weeks pregnant, she often complained a lot about things.

With the feeling of her flesh embedded into his, Jack began to reminisce of the past year knowing his wife. "Did I ever mention how much I love you?" He softly whispered.

"Every day." She pulled their intertwined hands above her heart. "I love you too Jack." There was a soft gasp when she felt Jack's other palm graze along her inner thigh. She stretched her mouth in what seemed to be part yawn and part laugh. "Not now. I'm too sleepy." She didn't push his hand away though.

Jack's lips were back at her ear again. "Do ya remember the first time I made love to you?"

"Jack!" She giggled.

"I'm serious, Katherine." He breathed. "Don't you remember?"

She slowly rolled out of his embrace to bring her face against his, only millimetres between the tips of their noses. Her voice grew husky. "I remember."

_It was only a few months after the strike had ended in the Summer, that the Autumn winds began to pick up in late October. Leaves were strewn around the pavements of New York, some coming from as far as Central Park to be swept into downtown Harlem. Not only were the leaves becoming a plaything of the wind, but also the windows and doors of the high rise buildings; in particular Katherine's apartment. _

_She sat at her desk hunched over her typewriter in the midst of writing an article for the Sun. Her fingers weren't tapping at the keys however, but merely hovering above them, for she was too anxious about the oncoming storm that had predicted all day. Although always frightened by the first clap of thunder herself, she worried more about Jack and if he had gotten back to the lodge house before the winds had taken off. She had seen him off that morning at Central Park, where he left with a kiss to her lips to go and sell his bundle of papers. But that was the last time she had seen him that day. _

_There was an instance of light pattering on the window panes which quickly grew into fat, hard and fast rain drops echoing all through the apartment. A smack of thunder made her jump. At least, she thought it was thunder. _

_A voice cursed loudly from the direction of the fire escape, which she whipped her head round to quickly. Doubled over his still full bag of papers, She found Jack clutching his knee. _

_"Jack?" Katherine got up and went to go let him in. He was soaked to the bone and his hair had begun to drip into his eyes. "We're you outside that whole time?"_

_He grinned. "Yeah."_

_"God," she shook her head and raced to go grab a towel from her bathroom. When she came back, she noticed he hadn't moved an inch, fearful he'd get water all over her floorboards. She laughed and opened the towel, which he huddled into without question. With her arms, she enclosed him into her chest and it reminded her of when her nannies would do the same to her when she had climbed out of the bath tub as a little girl. She didn't think Jack would know this feeling though from the little things he had mentioned about his childhood. She felt good to introduce it to him now. _

_Although Katherine's head stopped at his shoulder, she tried her best to lean on her toes and perch her chin beside his neck. Jack seeing her struggle took the liberty to free his arms and lift her from beneath her bust, where he carried her to the couch. _

_"That wasn't necessary," she said as she watched him take off his hat to scruff dry his dark hair with the towel. _

_"I like carryin' ya," he grinned. "You're kinda tiny, y'know that?"_

_"I'm not that tiny." She frowned and pulled on his arm. He didn't follow through though, for his clothes were wet and he felt he was going to ruin her couch. Instead he went and pulled up a wooden dining chair from her kitchen table and sat on it opposing her. Jack leant down and grabbed her ankles from underneath her blue taffeta skirt and hoisted them up on top of his thighs. She gave him a questionable arch of her brow, but didn't object. Instead she rested her chin on her fists and gazed into his eyes tiredly. "I was worried about you."_

_"What? Me gettin' caught in that rain?" He was smiling that contagious smile. "There ain't nothin' to be worried bout Ace."_

_She sighed and leaned forward to kiss him softly. "I just do sometimes when it comes to you."_

_"What's goin on in your head Ace?" He said softly, pressing his forehead against hers. _

_"You have no idea."_

_"Enlighten me."_

_"It's not important."_

_"Katherine." He pressed. "Tell me."_

_She pulled away from him and bit her lip. "I'm worried about losing you Jack. My parents are taking every step to make it harder for me to see you. They're throwing me a debutant ball at the end of the month. I'm supposed to find a suitor. Someone my parents approve of."_

_His expression hardened. "Katherine. Ya can't let that get to ya. You and me, we's have gone through hell and back to be together. It'd be stupid to quit what we have for the sake of pleasin ya folks." She nodded and her eyelids seem to grow heavy, as if her lashes were coated in lead. Jack took her forearm. "Is that all that's botherin you?"_

_"I'm scared you're going to leave. I'm scared that you think I'm wasting your time. You know that I haven't done half the things those girls you've been with have done."_

_"Ya think that's all I'm interested in?" He arched his brow. "Ya think that I see past all of ya beauty, ya smartness, ya kindness? There's so much more to you than sex Katherine." Jack's lips flickered the smallest of smiles. "That's why I love you."_

_"You love me?" She whispered, in which he nodded in response. "Jack I...I love you too." She leaned forward slowly again to kiss him once more. He almost knocked her teeth out however, when the windows lit outside from lighting flashes and a booming strike of thunder shook the walls. Katherine's chocolate eyes were wide in fear. _

_"Not a fan of thunderstorms?" Jack said. She shook her head and casted her gaze to the floor. "My parents were never usually there when they struck. Apart from my brother Michael, I didn't have anyone to tell me they weren't all that bad. I guess I never really grew out of it." She slid her legs off him and took his hand. "Do you want coffee?"_

_"I feel like I just use ya for ya towels and coffee." He laughed. _

_Katherine laughed with him and made her way to the kitchen to brew him a comforting mug of the coffee he loved. Stirring it with a spoon, she raised it to him, which he sipped with all his finger pads pressed against the China. He set it down on the bench when he felt Katherine's hand touch tenderly at his hip. "Katherine?"_

_She placed her other on his opposing side and very slowly filled in the space between them. He furrowed his brows down at her. She was never the one who initiated their touching. It was always him who played the first move. He could feel her chest up against his, firm and high set. If it were another girl back in Harlem, he would have had her clothes off by now and spread up on the bench. But this was Katherine, she wasn't like those girls. _

_Katherine looked up into his eyes, and he noticed her bottom lip quivering. "Jack?"_

_"What is it?"_

_"I want to show you that I love you." _

_Had he heard her correctly? "Katherine-"_

_"I want to Jack. I-I want this. With you."_

_He shook his head. "No, no ya don't. Ya just saying so because ya feel like ya have to. I'm not forcin you into anythin no matter how much I want it."_

_"I want it just as much as you. Jack-"_

_"Katherine I'd ruin you if we did."_

_"I don't care." _

_By now Jack had her cheeks in his fingers and was wiping away the slight accumulation of tears under her bottom lashes. "You will. In the mornin'."_

_"No," she shook her head. "In the morning I'll be lying next to you." Jack still wasn't convinced, bowing his head to avoid her eyes and furrowing his brow. Katherine took his neck in her hands and brushed the tip of his nose with her own. He could feel her tears that had run down the bridge and threatening to fall on the jump at the end. _

_"Katherine," he said softly, finally bringing his attention back up to her. He brushed away her wet cheeks with his thumbs. "Please don't cry. I hate seein' ya cry."_

_She sniffed and this time she was the one to look away. Jack titled her jaw back to him however. "Hey, look at me. Is this what you really want?" _

_She nodded in response, croaking quietly, "I love you Jack."_

_He sighed. "I love you too." For a brief period of time, he relished her close proximity. He'd never realised how small she was until she was glued to his much taller, broader frame. He wasn't saying she was a stick, but she still seemed so fragile, so easy to just pick up when he felt the need to. Which he did. _

_She let out a small 'oomph' as he gently hoisted her onto his hips. He noticed her long dark lashes flutter just before she linked her arms tighter around him, going in to press her lips to his. It was sweet and soft, so soft that Jack felt a flurry in his stomach, igniting a response in him to kiss her back. They kept at it for a while, for it was a familiar ritual that they knew. This would be about as far as it went usually before Katherine would say something and cut them both short, reminding not only Jack but also her self of her expectations to wait till her wedding night. Looking back on it now however, she saw hegemony in her wish. A belief implanted in her head by fear and strong assertion, that in hindsight was, as Jack would describe, 'a load of high society bullshit."_

_Jack felt the tip of her tongue beg entrance into his mouth, which he gave to her relentlessly. Tongues almost knotted together, Katherine grew restless, wanting more than just his lips. _

_"Jack." She managed between kisses. _

_"Mm-what?"_

_"Take me to the couch." He was hesitant for a moment which she picked up on. "Jack, don't change your mind now."_

_"I'm not changing my mind." He readjusted her weight and with cautious footing, he took her over to the living room, where he dropped her body carefully onto the worn chocolate leather Chesterfield. It had been a gift from her father when she left home, not too long before she met Jack. She didn't particularly like it, but she accepted it with respect due to the fact that her father's signature had been the one written in the contract for her apartment. _

_Katherine, splayed beneath Jack, looked heavenly with her chocolatey curls spiralled loosely around the armrest where her head was propped against. Jack brushed aside the feathery bangs that had clung to her brow and leant in to kiss her again. His pace was much more urgent this time, as if at any moment he would be caught and punished for undoing this girl. _

_"Stop being so tense." She murmured softly into him. _

_He detached himself and grunted, still remaining so close to her at the same instance. "It's pretty hard not to be when I'm deflowering my boss's daughter." That earned a giggle from her part, which warmed Jack's ears like honey, rich, sweet and liquid like. He was more comfortable when he was reminded of her presence._

_He went back to pressing his lips onto hers until his own started to stray and found themselves trailing down her throat. He wasn't restricting her breathing, however Katherine was sure her lungs were working twice as hard in response to his touch. _

_When he reached the top hem of her chiffon blouse, draped effortlessly over her chest, she seemed to shift forward, edging him on to get to it. _

_Fumbling fingers pried into the cool snow coloured fabric and pulled it under her bust with ease. A satin dusty pink bustier remained as a barrier between her flesh and his fingers. With a steady nod of approval, Katherine initiated his touch, granting him permission. She let out a small gasp, relishing the feeling of his strong hands as they kneaded into her chest. As he bent his head down to pepper slow lingering kisses over her skin, she tossed her head back into one of the throw cushions behind her head. Although with shut eyes, she sensed that he hadn't shaved in a day or so, by the barely there five o'clock shadow that scraped against the crevice of her breasts. This was the furthest they'd gone and the most flesh she'd ever bared to Jack's eyes. It was thrilling. _

_"How are you doin up there?" He grunted. "I ain't rushin you?"_

_She shook her head. "You're pace is perfect. But Jack?"_

_"Hm?"_

_"You can take this off." She nodded to her bustier. Jack bit his lip and shot her a daring look. Never the less he pulled her bunched chiffon shirt over her head and unclasped the last article with a distinct click of metal hooks being separated. With his guiding hands, she shrugged it off slowly, a pink tinge flushing her cheeks at the feeling of being so exposed. Her creamy skin illuminated the room in the dark twilight, and Jack was quick to getting back to caressing her. His mouth was hot against the top of her breasts, while his hands cupped and rubbed and ground into her tender flesh. He found himself latching onto one of her raised, pebbled peaks which earned a whimper from Katherine. He knew that her skin was soft, much softer than the girls he was used to. However, it was only now that he understood that wasn't just her hands and face that was silk to the touch, but her whole body. It struck him then that his hands were the first to ever touch her in this way. She had been posed her whole life to believe that anything of this nature was a shameful act, and she would pay severe consequences if she ever did so. A small fixation on this grew in Jack's belly. He wanted to change this, to show her that with the right person none of this was wrong. He wanted to be that right person. _

_His thoughts were interrupted when he felt Katherine's grip pull on his shirt, begging to take it off his torso. She felt her way down the front of his chest to undo the line of buttons. He shrugged it off absentmindedly and continued to lay himself upon her. While his hands kept caressing her, his mouth travelled further down to the waistband of her skirt. With a quick movement the zipper on the side was undone and she shimmied it off her, where it joined the growing pile of her clothing on the coffee table beside them. Her sheer white stockings clung to her legs, and with her satin underwear, they were the only bits of clothing left on her body. _

_Jack noticed her try to conceal herself with her arms, and pulled them back gently. "Don't. You ain't got nothin to hide with me. You know that right?"_

_Katherine nodded and kissed him softly. He went back down to where he left off, this time tugging her underwear down her legs in the slowest manner possible. The stark difference of temperatures clashed when Jack grazed his fingers against her heat. Frosty digits against her molten core. _

_"I-" she tried to speak, but Jack hushed her with a kiss. _

_"Rule number one: just go with what I'm doin. I know what you'll like, and I promise you there ain't nothin I'm gonna do that'll hurt you."_

_"O-ok-ugh!" She exclaimed as he rolled a thumb against her clitoris. "Jack!" He had pressed his mouth against her and was tracing her folds with tip of his tongue. She squirmed beneath him, so much that he had to hold her by her hips for her to remain still. His tongue became sharper, more muscled, and teased at her entrance, circling her. He raised a hand to play with her clitoris again while his mouth worked up a series of moans from the girl beneath him. She practically screamed when he plunged his tongue into her, lapping at her musky sweetness. Her hands found their way into his scalp, holding on to dear life. In only moments she began to shift in ecstasy, a large knot growing in her stomach. _

_"Jack!" She squealed, reaching her peak, eyes blinded white as she rolled her neck back. _

_As Katherine began to regain her breath, she noticed Jack snake back up to her face and plant a kiss on her lips. She could taste herself on him, and it made her weak in the knees. _

_"Jesus," she panted._

_"Was that ok?"_

_She giggled. "That was more than ok, that was heavenly."_

_A sly grin flashed upon his face. "Then you trust me to go further?"_

_"I do." Her voice had lowered to a husky whisper. His hands went to her stockings which he peeled off effortlessly, while in the same instance, Katherine went for the fly of his pants. Once both were off, Jack took the liberty to take off his undershorts, the last garment between them being completely skin on skin. She didn't look, but she sensed him brush past her thigh. His big hands took possession of just under her breasts and he fell into the space between her legs. "Katherine?" He murmured and tilted her jaw to face him. "You absolutely sure you're ready for this?"_

_She swallowed back her nerves, which were becoming apparent in her sudden change of character. She was more reserved, less persistent for him to do this to her. But she shook all of this aside. He was the only one she trusted and loved enough that she would agree to do this at such high stakes. "Jack I'm sure."_

_He nodded and positioned himself at her entrance. Her arms locked securely around his neck, and she felt a deep stirring inside her at from the warmth that was created from the friction of the bare chests pressed up against one another. Jack kissed the spot behind her ear. "This might hurt."_

_"What?" She hissed, panicked. No one had ever told her that. Well, no one had really told her anything to be completely honest. _

_"Hey, shh. I promise you that it'll only sting for a second." His words soothed her like melted butter tied in with his fingers combing through her scalp. She mouthed an, "ok" and pulled her embrace tighter, bracing for his entrance. _

_With a slow push, he filled her fully and hushed the large yelp that exploded from her lungs. She felt her eyes tear, which Jack's thumbs brushed away instantly. _

_He didn't move for a moment, letting her regain herself. "I'm sorry. I-"_

_"Jack, I'm fine." she whispered. "You can move now."_

_He started with a slow, elongated pace which washed away all of the pain and replaced it with newfound pleasure. A low moan emanated from her throat, which drove Jack crazy. When they had finally found comfort in one another, the steady pace arisen slightly to a heavier, quicker tempo, the patter of rain on the windows grew louder. The dark room was lit for a brief moment with lightening which preceded a deafening clap of thunder. Katherine jumped, startled in Jack's strong arms. He kissed her nose, muttering reassuring phrases into her lips. It was clear she was frightened of thunderstorms. _

_"Do you want me to stop?" He said. _

_Katherine pressed her temple into his cheek. "No, keep going. I'm alright, it's just thunder." He went back after waiting a moment before he was convinced she was fine, finding his rhythm once more. _

_After minutes of his poundings, she couldn't hold back her cries, and neither could Jack. With each little whimper, he would match with a gravelled groan. She thought she was at a comfortable, yet satisfying medium of pleasure until Jack let go with one hand of her torso and brought his thumb between them to grind her clitoris roughly. _

_"Jack!" She cried, arching her back into the leather. The additional sensation was beyond incredible and after only a brief period of time, she felt herself wobble between keeping upright and succumbing to pleasure. With eyes squeezed closed and lips parted in a desperate moan, she felt her knees buckle and give in to the latter. Jack, not far behind her, came quickly as well and flipped her in a short manoeuvre so that he lay on the bottom now. She had collapsed her weight onto his, both of them panting heavily into each others chest. _

_Jack smiled sleepily and lifted her head to look at her. "You done that before kid?"_

_She laughed. "I don't think I did anything special. I sort of just laid there."_

_"You just feel so good." There was a kiss pressed between their lips."I love you Katherine."_

_She beamed. "I love you too." She pulled the knitted cream throw blanket from the back of the couch and tossed it over them. The rain had ceased slightly, and the thunder had diminished to a low distant rumble. "I guess this changes everything though, huh?"_

_"Katherine, this changes nothin. You ain't lost some part of you or respect for ya family or even me. Ya still the same girl I fell for not so long ago."_

_"I guess you're right." She settled down into his chest drowsily, and they both fell asleep into the night from the soothing action of Jack's fingers taking through her hair. _

"That seems like so long ago." Katherine mused.

Jack's hands were still wondering around her lower half when he replied in his usual morning gravelly voice. "That was only a year ago. Does it shock you when you realise we're still eighteen and seventeen year olds?"

"Yes. I guess now we're just eighteen and seventeen year olds married and expecting a baby in 5 months."

Jack groaned with a laugh and flung himself back into their bed. "We've got so many responsibilities now."

"Are you saying you regret marrying me and getting me pregnant?"

He laughed loudly and pulled her into him, so that her legs clasped themselves around his waist. "There ain't a thing I regret doing when I'm with you."


	22. Signs and Symptoms

It was in the bathrooms of the office at the Sun when Katherine noticed it. She had just come from the toilet stall for the sixth time that day, a newfound pastime thanks to her overgrowing uterus expanding into her bladder, and was washing her hands in the basin. All though she dressed herself in conservative fashion, nothing could hide the melon sized curve in her belly. Of course she had noticed herself become bigger weeks ago, but she had always been in such a rush to get her work done before the baby came that she didn't pick up that she had become this big. Had Jack noticed? He was usually very observant of her body, he'd be the first to know. He'd also be the first to tell her, like when he had slipped it to her that her breasts had in fact gotten much larger and fuller. She had elbowed him and rolled her eyes, ignoring him due to the fact that they were larger and fuller because they were heavy and hurting.

Katherine frowned and smoothed her skirt, her hands curving over the swell, before turning back to walk to her desk. She made a detour however on the way, stopping at the desk near the back window, where her husband was in the middle of concentrating on his work.

"Why are you here?" She asked tiredly, gesturing to the bone coloured cast cling to his wrist. He had broken it the day before trying to lift a box of firewood into their living room. It had been too heavy and Jack was too proud to admit it, leading to his arms slipping and his wrist bending at an unnatural angle to try and catch it. Katherine had laughed at him and called Clara to come and plaster him up.

Jack put his pen down, in which Katherine noticed he used his right hand. "I'm working."

"Jack, you're left handed."

"I'm trying to be ambidextrous to save my pay check. Give me a break, huh Ace?" He was laughing now.

She brushed him off and waited for him to finish. When he did she sighed. "Can you give me your honest opinion?"

"Shoot away."

"Am I noticeably huge?" She motioned to her abdomen, which he took in his hands gently. There was a kiss placed over her navel before her flickered his eyes up to his wife. "You're perfect size. Don't stress over it too much."

"I'm not stressing, I'm concerned that my impending size and you're sudden infliction will cause great havoc to our ability to work. And I'm not going to my father to beg when we've got no fire wood and food to eat."

"Ah, we got this. Piece a cake." He raised his sketch pad in his hands, showing off the ink blotted, messy image he had painted with his non dominant hand. "Just look how good this'll be on the front page."

At the dinner table that night, Jack and Katherine had pulled up more chairs from the living room to accommodate the Pulitzers who had joined the two for dinner. Marie Pulitzer had insisted that they spend more time together now that she was going to have her first grand child, which Katherine had argued was stupid for her brother Michael and his wife were expecting a baby in the next month. Sophie, his wife of a year or so, sat in between Michael and Katherine at the table. The strawberry blonde had always been in her good books; a non stuck up, genuine, lovely girl who married her brother for love and not their family fortune. Katherine thought that at five months she was huge, but when compared to Sophie's eight month belly she was hardly one to say.

Sophie tapped Michael's wrist with a smile. "Did you tell your family what we decided on?"

Michael raised his brows and mopped his mouth with a serviette. "Oh, we've finally agreed on names. If it's a girl; Rose Marie, and if it's a boy; William Joseph."

Katherine smirked as she stabbed a piece of carrot with her fork. "Paying homage to our parents , are we?"

"Let's hope you do the same."

She rolled her eyes and brought her fork to her mouth. "Jack and I haven't really talked about names but I've got a gut feeling it's a girl. I like Elizabeth."

Her father nodded in agreement, his brows uplifting slightly. "I've always said to your mother it's best to have a strong and common name for the first born."

"What like Michael?" Maggie sniggered. Connie and Georgia joined in until their father settled them down with a smile.

"What if we have a boy?" Jack asked.

"I don't know. It's not going to be a boy. Call that mother's intuition."

He chuckled. "For sure."

"Mm!" She shot up. "I forgot the Poutine!"

"The pout what?" Jack frowned.

"Hold on everyone, I'm sure that I can still save it. It might be a little crispy." She rose out of her seat and hurried to the oven to rescue the golden blob in the dish that smelled like it had been cooking for far too long.

"Katherine darling," Marie laughed uneasily. "I'm sure we have enough food on the table-"

"No no, I wanted to make it! Clara and her mother cooked everything else and I realised that if I'm going to be a mother soon myself I need to learn to cook properly."

"Why not just heat up some bread?" Georgia jested. Katherine shot her a look. She sighed and looked at her family with a frown. "I know I'm not the best at this domestic thing, but can you at least support me to try?"

Sophie was the first to nod her head and agree. "I'm sure it'll be delicious."

With a grin she went around the table to distribute portions onto plates. When she reached her father's plate, her gently touched her wrist. "What was this again Katherine?" His tone was tired, as if he were trying to be happy for her effort but was far too old to be lying to her like he did when she was little.

She kissed his cheek. "Poutine. It's French fries, gravy and cheese curds."

"Why not just say it's French fries, gravy and cheese then?" Jack said.

"Because it's French, that's why. You're Irish, you like potatoes."

"Hey!" He laughed, which she gave in to as well. With all of the Poutine given out to her family, she sat back down next Jack and Sophie and with a Colgate smile waiting for them to eat. Connie gave her honest opinion first by spitting it out the minute she put it in her mouth. "Ew!"

"Connie!" Marie said condescendingly.

"Mama it's too salty, and the cheese is burnt!" She protested.

"Nonsense. I'm sure your sister's done a lovely job-" she too had to spit it out into her serviette, interrupting herself. "Oh god."

Everyone else had dropped their forks, drinking quickly from their glasses to rid the flavour off their tongues. Katherine blinked in disbelief. "Y-you don't like it?"

Jack heard the crack in her voice and immediately took her hand, feeling bad. "No, no, it's fine sweetheart! It's just a bit..."

"Strong." Her father offered.

There was a sniff, and she began attempting to wipe away stray tears that had rolled down her cheeks. "Fine, don't feel like you have to eat it." She muttered. Katherine dashed around the table and began taking plates, stacking them in a disorderly manner in her hands. She filed out into the kitchen grumbling about how ungrateful they were. When Jack heard the hair raising slam of the plates on the marble kitchen bench he knew he had to go and chase her down to calm things over. "I'll go see if she's a'right." He murmured before heading Katherine's direction.

He found her scraping the remnants of the food into the bin under the sink, a murderous look embedded on her face.

"Ace honey-" he tried.

Her mouth had formed a hard line. "What?"

"Don'tcha think you're, ah, overreacting a little?"

"Overreacting?" She almost screeched so loud that it could be heard back in the dining room. Jack winced and tried to take her forearm but she jerked away and shot him a dirty glare. "I'm not overreacting!"

He tried a smile. "Why don't we just sit down for a moment huh?" Reluctantly, Katherine let him take her to the small cherry stained table, where he sat her down and laced both of her hands in his. She looked away with scowl but Jack used his fingertips to tilt her jaw back to him. "May I remind you missy that you're very hormonal?"

For a moment she gazed at Jack not with anger but with pain. Her bottom lip started to quiver and the tears began to roll again. Jack caught her head as she dropped it onto his shoulder and began to weep violently. "I know!" She cried. The whole ordeal seemed ridiculous to Jack and he fought back the urge to chuckle at his wife. He remained his composure however because he was certain if he was caught laughing she'd rip his lungs out. He held her for what seemed like eternity until she let out a small "Oof." He pulled away and frowned down in concern. She frowned in return. "Jack. Why'd you do that?"

"Do what Ace?"

"Hit me."

"I didn't hit you."

"Well then why did-OW!" She clutched the swell of her belly and her eyes widened. "Oh my god! Everyone come in here! The baby's kicking!"

By the time her family had stampeded into the room, Jack already had his palms firmly planted over her and was grinning with every little thump that echoed from a pair of little feet inside her.

"Joseph do you remember how aggressive all ours were when I was pregnant with them? I think it's been passed down to this little one." Marie smiled to her husband.

"Not just in the womb Marie." He chuckled with his eyes trained on Katherine.

That night after everyone had left, Jack and Katherine got ready to go to sleep in their bedroom. Already tucked under the huge duvets, Katherine smiled as she toyed with her fingers. "Do you think it's a boy or girl?" She asked softly while he searched around for his shirt.

He picked up a stray pillow and found it crumpled in a ball but never the less slipped it over his head and crashed into bed next to his wife. "Mm," he sighed, closing his eyes and resting his arms crossed on the pillow behind his neck. "Don't mind, long as it's healthy."

Katherine snuggled into his side. "But really. Which would you want more?"

He began to laugh. "I don't want one more than the other Ace!"

"Answer the question!"

"I'm not gonna-"

"Jack!"

He rolled his eyes and pulled her in close prior to slinking his strong arms around her middle. With a smooch to her cheek bone he murmured his response into her skin. "You really wanna know?" Katherine nodded. "I wanna girl Ace. So I can spoil her, like I spoil you."

"You mean how I spoil you?" She giggled.

"Let's just say we spoil each other and will spoil our baby twice as much, hm?"


	23. Just Like Everyone Else

**Sorry, the updated chapter. The previous just came out like html. Wtf. **

By the time the sweltering Summer had rolled around in New York City Katherine had found her stomach swell unbelievably in the result of her third trimester.

"Ya'd think she'd be pushin out twins." Race observed one afternoon on the roof of the Lodge house. Along with him were Jack and Katherine, a band of the Manhattan boys along side Brooklyn's Spot and Angie, all whom had retreated to the roof to catch one of the few breezes from the other high rise buildings.

"Shut up Race." Katherine scowled. As sweat beaded her temple and the rouge on her cheeks began to patch from splashing herself with Jack's cup of water, it was clear she had had enough of being pregnant and those who pointed it out further.

"Ya got names yet?" Albert poked dangerously.

Katherine pinched the bridge of her nose and tilted her head back to the azure sky. "If it's a girl I'm going to call her heat stroke. If it's a boy; sweat between my thighs."

Although the boys displayed faces of uneasiness, it was Jack who brought home the winning grimace. To give him credit, he was the one who had seen more than enough of what anyone was used to this whole pregnancy. Just as much as Katherine did he want to get his kid out already. Katherine noticed his disgust and flicked her eyes towards him. "Why are you pulling that face? It was your sweat between my thighs that made me like this."

"Ok, ok, they get the picture sweetheart." He groaned. "I'm sorry that this weather's making ya so uncomfortable."

"It's not just this weather. I'm nine months pregnant. I'm supposed to overheat."

"Are ya s'posed to be a bitch about it too?" Muttered Race.

"Shut your god damn mouth Higgins!" She hissed, which made him retract with two hands up in defence. Her face twisted in anguish and she shot a hand to her belly. "Stop." She groaned in direction to where she clasped her hand.

"What?" Jack squinted, confused.

"Not you. The baby. I feel like a human punching bag."

"Oh."

"Oh? You're not going to say anything more?" She rolled her eyes and shook her sweaty bangs from her brow. "You know what, I have a story to write back at the office. Who knows, maybe it'll be cooler indoors." With that, Katherine hoisted herself up with great difficulty and tried her hardest to maintain her dignity as she shuffled to go down the fire escape to the ground level. Once she was out of earshot, Jack buried his face in his hands and cried out painfully, "She's crazy!"

Crutchie tried to offer help while the rest were silent out of not knowing how to. "I wouldn't call Kathy crazy. Maybe you should just lay low awhile until the kid's here?"

Angie snorted. "Then she's gonna think you just don't care. Now this is comin' from a woman like Katherine, and keep in mind although I ain't ever got pregnant myself, I'm friends with a number a workin girls who unfortunately have and I know the ins and outs of it. As a father Jack, this is a very delicate process. You screw up your relationship in this nine month period, you can wave bye bye to ya baby. Katherine's probably gonna go and find another baby daddy with a whole lot more money very easily. So now you ask me: how do I not screw my marriage up Angie?" She raised her brows noticing him not responding and gestured for him to reply. "I said: and now you ask me how do I not screw up my marriage?"

Jack rolled his eyes but complied. "How do I not screw up my marriage Angela?"

"Well I'm glad ya asked. First of all you should recognise that she's heavily pregnant and extremely sick of it. She don't feel pretty and young anymore and you need to help her feel that again."

"How do I do that?"

"Well due to her size, I'm pretty sure sex is outta the question. I was thinking more of a party."

"A party?" His face squinted, beginning to question Angie's reliability. He was starting to wonder if she really was a girl or an extra terrestrial from another planet; the ones he drew to represent Katherine's father from time to time in his political cartoons for the Sun. "Look Ang, I really don't think a party's what she needs at the moment. She's already stressed and besides, there's no way she's drinkin while she's carryin' my kid."

"Not that kinda party!" Angie scowled. "I'm talkin about a party for her and the baby."

"Ya mean a baby shower Angie?" Spot offered from where he sat beneath her hips.

"Yeah Spot, a baby shower."

Spot laughed. "I went to one of those once." He shot his head to the other boys. "Hey Specs! D'ya remember Mary Di Angelo? The workin goil on 51st street?"

"Sure do." Specs said proudly. "And her two twins Peggy n' Cecilia."

Jack frowned. "I don't know if a prostitute invitin you round for her first shift back after childbirth is considered a baby shower Spot."

Angie gritted her teeth and sighed. "It's ain't for men anyway so I don't know why you're so dismissive of it."

"What, not even the father of the kid?"

"Nope. Women only."

"Well y'know I wouldn't exactly call ya a woman Ang!"Spot interjected, breaking into fits of giggles. "There ain't no stronger difference than between you and those high society goils that Katherine associates with."

She whacked his knee cap which sent him sprawling. "Shut up Spot."

"Can ya please pass the flour Mrs. Pulitzer?" Angie asked in her pleasantest tone of voice in Jack and Katherine's kitchen. She had ordered Jack to take her out and keep her away until the party was properly ready that afternoon. He had said something about seeing one of Medda's new shows, but she couldn't really care less. She just wanted the house free. She had asked Marie Pulitzer through Clara Mason for them to both assist her however and was in the process of baking a large butter cake in the shape of a pair of blue and pink baby booties.

"Ah, Angela?" Marie smiled nervously as she handed over the small sack of white powder. "Have you ever made a cake before?"

Angie smiled. "Oh sure! Before I sold papes I worked at a seamstress and a bakery. I'd always decorate the big wedding cakes in the display windows."

She nodded, relieved. Clara sat at on of the chairs tucked into the cherry stained kitchen table with her chin resting on her fist. "How many did you say you invited Mrs. Pulitzer?"

"Oh, only fifty two or so Clara. It was rather last minute mind you."

Clara's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to cry back in panic, but instead silently went to go help Angie with the food.

By the time the cake had finished in the oven, tea was being poured into cups and the room had filled with fifty two other young women.

"Now if you'd all just make ya selves comfy while Jack brings Katherine that'd be much appreciated." Angie smiled to everyone. She went on to ask Clara to open a bottle of Marie's champagne and provide crystal thin flutes of bubbling gold to everyone. In her mind, Angie didn't see it as a very nice gesture. Katherine couldn't drink but everyone else could and it was as if they were rubbing it in her face. She never did get the whole allure and sophistication of champagne though anyway. This was the first time she had ever had it due to her upbringing and it really just tasted like sparkly grape juice to her.

After what seemed like hours, there was a echoing click of keys at the front door and she knew that Jack had brought her home. "Everyone she's here! Clara dim the lights!"

The door swung open and a chorus of, "Suprise!" was called out through the room. Champagne was raised with pearly smiles that matched those that clung in strings around their throats, complimenting dashing dresses of an array of rich looking fabrics. These were the social elitists, the women Katherine was supposed to turn out like. In tow with Katherine was Jack who whispered something into her ear which she laughed at softly. He excused himself and nodded to the rest of the girls, leaving only when he pressed a kiss to her cheekbone. She watched him leave and muttered a quick, "I love you." It seemed her mood had made a full swing from the sour attitude she had earlier on.

Once all the initial congratulations were made as Katherine wandered in, she found herself walking over to Clara, who sat in her mauve lace dress she wore only because once Katherine had mentioned it had looked nice on her.

Katherine nodded to the crowd behind them. "What's all this hm?"

"Oh just a little thing Angie put together. She felt bad apparently about something on the Lodge house roof? I don't know I wasn't there, but she just wanted you to start to ignore the pain you've been going through and remind yourself how wonderful it's going to be when you finally deliver." Clara beamed and carefully placed a palm on Katherine's protruding belly. "Is this whole pregnancy business scary?"

"You'd think it would be, and I feel it is often. But.." She tried to find the right phrase. "I think it's easy when you find the right person to go through it with you."

"Jack does seem like he'll be a good father." Noted Clara.

"He's nervous about it. More nervous than me. Scared he'll do something his father would."

"But he's still excited?"

"Oh of course. In all honesty I'm convinced he's more excited to show off the baby to the boys than actually look after it." They both laughed at the thought of Jack bringing a small infant in his big rough arms to the lodging house and all around New York City to his friends where they would stop hawking paper headlines and coo over the new Kelly family addition.

Katherine and Clara were so caught in their conversation that they didn't notice Marguerite Dubois trot up beside them. A tight smile was on her lips and she tossed her hair back when the two girls finally acknowledge her. "Katherine, Clara."

"Hello Marguerite. I assume my mother invited you?" Katherine sighed, whilst Clara turned the other way and sipped on her glass of champagne.

"Yes, she did. How is everything? You must be close to your due date, you're huge." Although her giggles that brushed through her last phrase indicated that she was just being friendly, Katherine still didn't laugh but only nodded. "In the next week or so."

"Well Angela definitely pulled this all together beautifully."

"She did."

"I didn't think someone of her lot could make something so beautiful, I mean look at those floral arrang-"

"What do you mean someone of her lot?" Spat Clara suddenly. She had a sour expression washed over her features.

"Clara." Katherine breathed to remind her that the room had gone quiet and that everyone's attention was now focused on them, including Angie herself.

"Just because she may not fit into your ridiculous socialite mould, doesn't give you the excuse to single her out because of where she lives and how she earns a living." Clara finished with a snarl. "She has someone she loves looking out for her every move and friends who'd do the very same for her. I don't see how that divides her from us." Over by the sofa, Angie sat gazing at her knees. The violet lace of the dress Katherine had given to her, claiming it didn't fit her anyway, had become far more interesting than those who were playing tug of war with her name.

Marguerite smiled curtly. "My apologies. If you'd excuse me I'm sure my husbands home waiting for me so I think it's best I cut this party short." She pushed past Clara and Katherine, whilst everyone else parted like the Red Sea as she went for the door.

When the flock of guests had left, the girls were still cleaning dishes and glasses in the kitchen. The warm, soapy smell of lavender detergent swarmed through the room, whilst foamy bubbles flew and became caught in their hair. Clara wiped away one that had stuck to her nostril and shook her head. "Your mother shouldn't have invited her." She murmured coldly to Katherine.

Katherine smirked. "She always does."

"It's like she thinks she's a princess or something. She's an heiress, just like the rest of us. We haven't inherited anything yet."

At this remark, Angie giggled from her end of the kitchen bench. She had stayed quiet since Marguerite's departure, only murmuring a few thank you's and see ya next times to leaving guests. "I don't know how you both do it." She smiled.

"Do what?" Katherine cocked her head.

"Be heiresses. All this socialising makes me wanna neck myself. I don't know how you's cope with it all."

Clara grinned. "Well as you can see by my outburst, I clearly don't."

"Thanks for defending me there."

"It's not a worry, Angie. If I were in your boat I'd wish someone would do the same for me."

Angie nodded and tried to brush away the warm glow that spread through cheeks. It was nice to have female friends who understood her. At that moment the front door echoed a heavy rap and Clara smoothed the bubbles out of her dirty blonde chignon before going to answer it.

"You two? You said you weren't coming back until late." Clara frowned as she looked up and down Spot and Jack. They stood with their hands in their pockets, their hats on and mischievous gleams in their eyes.

"Yeah well Jack was getting antsy bout leavin Kathy for more than an hour and Brooklyn got borin without Ang." Spot stated matter of factly. "Speakin of the devil, where is she? Ang!"

"In here Spot!" She called from the kitchen. They boys sauntered in behind Clara, Jack making sure that kissing Katherine was the first thing he did.

Katherine smiled lightly. "You didn't need to come home so early."

"I figured the baby shower would be borin. Was I right?"

"Mostly. Except Clara gave a fine performance." Jack whipped his head to Clara and raised a brow while Katherine continued. "Marguerite was calling Ang trash, so Clara took control of the situation."

"It was no big deal." Clara claimed, shrugging before loading glasses into the top cabinets. "She was responsible for organising the whole thing. I wouldn't call that trash."

"Hey, that's my goil!" Spot rubbed her sides from behind her and she began to blush profusely. She wasn't used to this kind of attention.

With a hand over her belly, Katherine sighed happily over her friends. These were the kind people that would practically raise her child with her. If she was lucky, their kindness might rub off on them.

"Hey Ace we got you somethin. For the baby y'know?" Spot exclaimed and reached into his satchel to retrieve a brown paper parcel. She tore it open hesitantly to find a knitted cream coloured blanket folded and tied together with a wide satin white ribbon.

"What's this?" She laughed and pulled it out to hold it up fully.

"It's a baby blanket. All us boys in Brooklyn and Manhattan chipped in to get it. Don't want no kids gettin cold in the New York winter."

"It's beautiful," she marvelled feeling the buttery wool against her fingers. She knew it was expensive, for she had seen it one evening home from work with Darcy. It had been displayed in one of the boutiques windows along fifth avenue and she had longed to buy it but had put it off due to her and Jack's already tight funds.

"It's ah, cashmere. Dave said it was nice. Real soft." Jack pointed out, with sheepish smile spreading across his face. He was proud of this gift and proud that he and Spot had mustered up the boys to help too.

Katherine rubbed her belly. "I'm sure the baby will love it."

"It better, I missed out on lunch last week at Tibby's- ow!" Spot cried as Angie whacked the nape of his neck.


	24. Last Words and Final Promises

**Next chapter is coming super soon I promise! Happy reading x**

The week after Katherine's due date was tense to say the least. There wasn't a minute where someone wouldn't be on the look out for any given sign of her needing assistance. Jack kept close proximity at all times, despite her protests that she didn't need to be babied. Her mother had instructed Clara to stay at the Kelly house, for she was to midwife. It wasn't a bad thing that everyone was so concerned, it was just that everyday that went past added more stress that this baby would never arrive.

Lying on the leather couch whilst Jack sketched his political cartoons near her swollen feet, Katherine began to realise how boring waiting could be. In the kitchen, Clara prepared doughy cookies with Davey, whom had come to visit for her sake. They murmured between one another and Katherine tried to hear what they were saying, but the scritch-scratch of Jack's pencil against pad was too loud. She tossed him a look, but he was too focused on his work to notice. It was these sounds along with the tick of the clock mounted above the fireplace that made her groan loudly in frustration.

Jack threw his pad down. "What happened? Are you a'right?" His voice hinted panic.

She frowned. "I'm fine. I'm just bored. Since my father took away my typewriter and you're too busy doing your work, and Davey and Clara are probably mentally screwing one another in the kitchen, I've got nothing too do."

"You can wait until you go into labor." Jack replied with a sigh.

"I've been doing that since I was supposed to go into labor last week!"

Jack scratched the slight stubble that accumulated along his jaw and offered a reassuring smile. "How bout you go and take some time by y'self. Go have a bath or a nap or somethin."

There was a whine, but she hurled her weight off the couch and made her way up stairs.

After a long, soapy steaming bath, she wrapped herself in a fluffy white towelled robe and went to her and Jack's room to start peeling down the sheets and attempt to stall time with sleep. That lasted for about ten minutes, before she gave up and just stared at the ceiling. Behind her however at the door way, were heavy footsteps. They came to halt at the frame and as Katherine turned over Jack leaned with his arms folded against the frame.

"This late labor's really givin ya trouble, huh Ace?" There was a glint in his eye; something questionable about his smile.

"I just want it out." Katherine murmured, her tone deflating. Jack sauntered to the bed and climbed under the covers with her. They were nose to nose and lips so close that they could smell the golden syrup they had doused their breakfast with that morning. Katherine's lashes fluttered until they closed and her brows knitted together in discomfort. "I'm sick of being huge, my feet are swollen, and I don't like being baby sat just because I missed my due date."

"Rough." Katherine punched his chest. He hissed and kissed the hollow of her neck in apology. "I mean; I'm afraid that ya feelin that way. What can I do to help?"

She twisted her features and tightened her grip around him, sinking further into his embrace. "You'd be my saviour if you could magically grant me into labor."

He laughed at her grumble but halted midway. A sly smile crept upon his lips. "Y'know Ace-"

She looked up and let out a flat, "What?" It seemed she didn't really want to know.

"Clara was tellin me this mornin that when the girls come in with labor pains in the hospital she has to ask em if they'd eaten anythin or done anythin to bring it on."

"Oh I see what you're getting at." She rolled her eyes. "It's not going to work."

There was a low laugh on Jack's part and he began peppering kisses along the bare skin visible under her robe. Katherine attempted to push him off, muttering strings of hurtful accusations, but in the end it was as if her arms were limp, for she let him go down on her.

"Jack, what if we hurt the baby." She let out breathlessly, feeling a palm caress her breast under her robe.

"We ain't gonna. Clara said there ain't nothin wrong with it." The tie around her waist began to loosen and the whole fluffy garment felt like it was slipping off her shoulders.

Katherine's chocolate eyes widened in panic. "You asked her about our sex life?"

"No- I didn't say that-"

"Jack!"

"Well I wouldn't really call it our sex life, I mean these last nine months have been pretty non existent-"

"One more word and I'll change my mind." She didn't need to remind him twice, it had been far too long for Jack to argue and miss the small window of opportunity. He simply nodded and went back to where he had left off in the crevice of her breasts.

"Gentle, Jack," she winced as the sensation of his teeth grazing her nipple caused her to cry out. "They still ache."

"Sorry," he apologised and took the role of rubbing her thighs instead. With the back of his hands he pushed outward and pulled the robe off fully at last. His lips met the underside of her belly, teasing and trailing further to the space in between her legs. Jack thought he was arousing her and doing a fairly good job at it too, that was until he sensed Katherine flop her head against the pillow and grind her jaw whilst pinching the bridge of her nose. "Jack?"

"Hm?"

"Can you just get on with it?" Her tone was irritated. "Just skip the foreplay, I'm sure that'll benefit us both."

He raised his head slowly and started to unzip the front of his trousers. "If ya say so." Quickly he was at her entrance, positioning himself. Despite Katherine's sour mood, he found himself hard and ready for her. She had that affect on him. He sank into her without warning, resulting in a gravelly groan from Katherine's throat. Like it or not, she had been as abstinent as her husband the entire pregnancy and it was clear that she had forgotten what it felt like to be intimate with him. It wasn't just like their usual love making though, for now her huge stomach creating friction as he pushed in and out of her was a constant reminder of the consequences they should had thought about the first time.

Jack's fingers laced into her crown whilst in the mean time she clawed her way up his back.

"I'm not hurtin you am I ace?" He grunted.

"N-no keep going." His poundings were bliss; a break or reward from all of her discomfort. "Ugh! That was too hard, now you're hurting me!"

He mouthed an apology, and changed his tempo and intensity, falling back into a comfortable rhythm. Before they knew it, they both were starting to feel the wonderful tug inside them, something they hadn't quite forgotten.

"Jack!" Katherine cried as she reached her peak. His own climax was brought on by hearing her cracked, delicate rise in pitch. He was careful not to crush her as he collapsed his forehead into her neck. The sound of their heavy breaths filled the silence of the aftermath; full of sweat and tangled limbs and flushed pink cheeks.

"Let me on my side," Katherine sighed, pushing him off her. He lay next to her and shuffled so that he could face her properly. "I need to give my pelvis a break from all the weight on my stomach."

Jack brushed her sticky bangs of her forehead and kissed her softly. She didn't object which seemed like a good sign. "I love you." He muttered lazily.

Katherine was silent. He ignored it first putting it off because he thought it was due to her grumpiness. However, seeing the frown lift from her brow and her face drain of color, Jack could tell something was wrong.

"Ace, what's the matter?"

She tried to open her mouth but had difficulty trying to get it out. "I-I-" she glanced down below her belly, then back at Jack. "I think my water broke."

"What do you mean her water broke?" Davey exclaimed to Jack downstairs, dumbfounded. "Tell Clara, I don't know anything about childbirth!"

"Well where'd she go? Katherine's up there in her own puddle and she told me to-"

"JACK! I NEED SOMEONE NOW TO GET THIS THING OUT OF ME! HURRY UP DAMMIT!" Yelled Katherine's distressed voice from their bed.

Jack gulped. "What she said."

Davey shook his head. "Clara!" He turned to Jack quickly. "How did her water just break all of a sudden anyway?"

"We may have cheated a little bit." He was guilty as his namesake who was caught with his thumb stuck in a pie.

Davey squinted, but chose to ignore him. "Clara! Where are you?"

"Right here. Stop yelling you'll distress Katherine." She scowled as she trotted into the room holding towels and buckets in her arms.

"Too late. She's in labor already. Are those for Katherine?" Davey nodded to her items in her arms.

Clara nodded. "I was going to put them up there just for convenience sake, but I guess we're really going to need them now."

Jack lead them up to their bedroom where Katherine had propped herself up against the headboard, dressing herself back in her robe. She looked relieved to see her midwife.

"Katherine, for the next while you're going to feel contractions which will get more intense as time passes. Don't panic because we're all here and if you need anything you just have to ask." Clara stated matter of factly whilst setting up towels on the foot of the bed.

"How long is the next while?" She huffed.

"Maybe six or so hours."

"Six?"

"This is the easiest part believe me. Just try and relax. There's nothing you can do but stay put and not exert yourself." She noticed Katherine stretch and groan uncomfortably before curling into a ball on the mattress. "Oh come on Kitty, aren't you excited? All this waiting and you seem like you don't even want to meet your baby."

"Can't it just stay in there a little longer?" She peeked an eye through the split she made in her palms that had facaded her face. Even Jack and Davey laughed at her.

When the fourth hour had passed, the room had filled with more people. Crutchie, Spot and Angie had barged in earlier panicking because they thought that they had missed the delivery. It only took Clara to remind them that there was still so long to go and they wouldn't even be in the room under her order to see the delivery. Darcy had come as well, bearing gifts of pacifiers and a silver rattle, which lightened Katherine's spirits slightly. He went to assist Clara heat up pales of water while Jack and Davey had taken to the dusty chaise in the corner, next to the window and kept small talk as the night grew darker outside.

"God this room's gotten crowded." Jack exclaimed and scanned his gaze over the mob that had gone into a mad rush over his wife's needs. He knew he was probably being judged for not helping too, but little did everyone know, the minute they all left for the delivery he was to be the most important assistance Katherine could get. Besides, he was letting her cool off a little after she had hit him over the cheek in a fit of distress two hours before.

Davey chuckled to himself. "The kid's gonna have New York's biggest welcome party."

"I hope not. The house ain't big enough." They had a shared laugh with one another until they were startled by a piercing cry over in the bed.

"Katherine shh!" Clara soothed whilst brushing her fingers through her frizzed chocolatey curls.

"How much longer?" She hissed in the middle of bearing through another contraction.

Darcy, sitting by her feet and kneading circles in her swelled and tender arches, took a moment to push his glasses up his nose. "When was your last contraction Kitty?"

"God- I don't know. I can't keep count."

"Two minutes ago." Clara beamed after whipping her head back from the wooden clock on the wall. "Katherine I think you're ready for delivery."

Katherine tossed her head back on the pillow and groaned.

"Hey Spot, I'll bet'cha two bucks that it's gonna be a boy." Angie declared on the downstairs couch. They had all been ushered out of the bedroom, except for Jack and Darcy, whom were both held back by Clara for 'moral support' and 'delivery assistance'. Crowded down in the living room, the rest of them waited anxiously for any sign of birth upstairs.

Spot, sitting with Angie's legs thrown on his knees and wedged beside Crutchie in the corner of the couch, rubbed his tired eyes. "How're ya so sure it's gonna be a boy, doll face?"

"Call it mothers intuition." She replied.

Crutchie frowned. "But you ain't ever been a mother."

"Well maybe one day-"

"A'right that's enough dreamin for you." Spot interrupted, alarm blaring in his eyes. "You's are gettin influenced by Katherine. Lemme tell ya though; give her three months with the baby and she's gonna wish she never had it in the first place. Kids are all brats, whether they come from wealthy families or not."

Angie rolled her eyes. She was used to hearing this from Spot. It was just part of his 'trying to be Brooklyn's king forever' scheme. He'd grow out of it one day. "Like you'd ever have the balls to start a family Spot."

"Y'd better watch where your goin with that statement-"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Well you asked for it you stupid son of a-" she raised her fist, but it was intercepted before she smashed it into Spot's nose. Davey forced it back down in her lap, standing behind the couch. She growled as she noticed Spot sporting a new smirk.

"Both of you stop!" Davey exclaimed. "There is enough drama upstairs without you two sending one another to the emergency room. Now makeup and be quiet or take it home and sort it out."

Davey was right and they both felt guilty. Katherine was probably going through hell upstairs and Jack was most likely as well. They didn't need to hear their fighting to make matters worse. "I'm sorry for tryin to punch you in the nose." She said softly.

Spot rubbed her knee. "And I'm sorry too for stompin on ya dreams."

"Y'should be." She said it to be inaudible but Davey seemed to pick up on it and reiterated again to shut up. It was going to be a long night.

Meanwhile back in their bedroom, Katherine and Jack were well into the delivery.

"Katherine deep breaths," Clara said with her eyes trained on her friends tired, lifeless form. "In... Out..."

"I'm trying!" She screamed. Both Darcy and Jack at her sides jumped, startled. They both however continued to do what they had been doing ; Darcy applying cool wet towels on her forehead and Jack holding a tight lock of her hand. It had been over an hour since Clara had initiated the delivery, but for all four of them it felt like a lifetime.

"Well keep it up, it looks like your cervix is fully dilated. I want you to start pushing now; slow and steady. Ok, on my count." She nodded at Jack to brace himself, then turned back to Katherine with a gleaming smile. "One...two...three-"

She cried out painfully and beneath her death grip, Jack contorted his face too, pretty certain that she was breaking his pinky and ring finger.

"That was good," Clara praised her. "Now again; one...two..three-"

"Jesus Kitty!" Darcy howled clutching his groin. He had been in the firing line just as she had pushed and kicked out her clenched foot. The only one seemed non injured from Katherine's part now was Clara.

"I'm sorry Darcy- oh!" She felt the excruciating sting against her back followed by the constant weighted force in her uterus and simply didn't care about feeling guilty anymore.

She pushed again under Clara's instruction, then again, and again.

Sweating, heated and beyond uncomfortable, she thought it would never end.

"Jack?" She whimpered in an interval between her last push and the next.

He kissed her cheek and tucked a damp stray hair behind her ear. "What is it love?"

"If I don't make it-"

"Ace don't say that."

"I'm serious. Lots of women don't make it and I just want to you to know that I love you and I want you to go to my parents for help to raise the baby. We both know neither of us by ourselves can raise it on our own salaries."

"You're bein ridiculous."

"Ow!" She yelled, pushing again. "How am I being ridiculous?"

"You're ridiculous for thinkin I'm goin to your old man askin for charity." He laughed and couldn't help shed a smile at the thought of it. It did seem ridiculous.

"Sorry to interrupt you two, but I think you'd both like to know your baby's crowning." Smiled Clara. "Alright Kitty, one more big push!"

With Jack's tight grip of reassurance and Darcy's steady hands holding down her ankles, she pushed with all her might.

It became a blur to her in that instance. The room began to dissolve into itself and the voices of not only the others, but herself, was muffled. But as the sound and imagery flooded into one flat level of silence and stillness, there was a foreign cry that screeched above it all.

"Jack?" She murmured, unsure if he could hear her. She didn't receive a response, but maybe she did? She wasn't sure. "Is that our baby?" She heard nothing but her slowing heartbeat ringing in her ears and before she knew it, her eyelids fluttered shut.


	25. Patience

**it's here! Hope you enjoy, next one is on the way!**

**x layla**

The minute Clara pulled the baby out, Jack could tell something was wrong. Katherine wasn't as responsive. Her eyes began to glaze, her breathing slowed and her familiar crushing grip of his hand grew limp. He remembered noticing her eyes shut, and immediately yelling at Clara to do something. With Darcy helping her swaddle and clean the baby in their arms, her mouth parted and she seemed to panic. "Darcy, take the baby."

She shuffled over and held two fingers to Katherine's throat, searching for a pulse. She found it thank god, weak but still there. "She's not dead. We need to keep her monitored though, she's lost a lot of blood." From her steel dish of instruments, Clara took a vial of an amber liquid and an empty syringe. She filled the syringe up and measured it with a squinted eye before lifting Katherine's dressing gown and injecting the thick, sharp needle into her hip.

"What the hell is that?"

"Oxytocin. They use it in the hospitals to stop bleeding and constrict the uterus. I believe something's ruptured during the delivery and she's suffering from a postpartum haemorrhage because of it."

He didn't understand a word she said, but still Jack nodded, however he couldn't take his eyes off his wife's limp form.

"Jack," Darcy grinned from the bottom of the bed. He was smiling at the bundle in his arms. "Come look."

Clara gave him a reassuring nod. She would take care of Katherine. He made his way over and carefully took the bundle from Darcy. Swaddled tightly, a pink cheeked, delicate lipped and dark lashed face protruded from all the woollen blankets. "A girl?" He asked.

Darcy nodded. "She's healthy. Got a strong pair of lungs according to Clara."

"Course she does," Jack chuckled, rocking his daughter slightly. "She's a Kelly. They're always yellin about somethin."

The baby girl fussed in his arms and he tried to hush her gently. "Hey, princess. Take it easy." His gentle, warm tone sent her snoring easily. As she slept, Jack noticed that she was the most heavenly thing he had ever set his eyes on, apart from her mother of course, and that he was instantly in love.

"Well we'd better leave you two alone for a bit. If Katherine stirs or you notice something wrong call for me." Clara reassured. She came over though to the baby before she left and planted a big kiss on her thick tuft of dark hair. His Black Irish genes must have been held accountable for that. He also noticed before that her eyes were his. Katherine did however get a look in with her nose and lips, but the rest of her was all Jack. As the door shut gently, he let out a long sigh. His heart crept towards Katherine; he wanted to show her so badly what they had been waiting to see for all these months. Instead, he carefully shifted the baby in his arms and sat down in the armchair they had placed next to Katherine's side. He'd used it through the delivery to relieve himself as it had gone on for so long and was a sore reminder of when she was conscious.

He had never put it into reality something like this could happen. He'd of course been aware it existed, for there had been friends of friends and those who kept themselves discreet in the dark of the Manhattan night that had slipped away the same way Katherine had. He just never really thought it would happen to her.

Looking at the innocent, soft and rounded face however cradled into him, he snapped back his drifting reverie. She wasn't dead, she couldn't be. Clara even said so. Their daughter needed a mother and there was no way that Katherine would miss out on being that for her.

"Don't you worry kid," he whispered and kissed her tiny fist. "Ya gonna be able to say hi to ya mom real soon."

The minute Clara and Darcy walked down stairs they were greeted by a much bigger, more excited crowd than they had seen when she had dismissed them all. The rest of the boys from the lodging house had made themselves present alongside Katherine's younger sisters. The living room was crowded, bursting with grins, all of which dampened Clara and Davey's hearts as they thought back to Katherine's condition. Clara could see Davey between Maggie Pulitzer and his brother Les sporting an expression that mixed between excited and confused. He could tell something wasn't right by her and Darcy's messy hair, disheveled clothes and weary faces.

"Is there a baby?" Crutchie piped up.

"Yes." Darcy nodded, wiping the sweat off his brow.

Angie leaned forward and elbowed Spot. "Boy or girl?"

Clara looked to Darcy. "A girl. But-"

"Damn it! There goes my two bucks!"

"When can we see the little ankle biter?" Called Race.

"Yeah, c'mon Clara! We've all waited nine months to see the kid." Specs added.

Almost everyone backed him, voicing their opinions loudly until Davey frowned as he locked eyes with Clara looking like she was exploding inside and bellowed, "Stop!"

The noise hushed. Clara bit her lip. "Katherine's not holding up too well."

It was like a weight had drop through the floor, pulling down everyone's jaws slightly along with it. "The baby's fine. But she, uh, she lost a lot of blood. I think it's best that we give her and Jack and the baby space for the moment."

There were still no words. Some shuffles of trousers and skirts, a couple clicks of heels against the floor, but no one had the courage to elaborate on what Clara was getting at. Katherine needed to spend the remainder of her time with her family, even if that meant shutting out the rest of her friends.

The group began to disband, each other nodding to one another murmuring a few short reassuring comments. "She'll make it through" and "it's Kathy we're talkin about" seemed to stand louder than the rest.

When everyone had left, Clara and Davey remained, scrubbing dirty towels in a pail of water at the kitchen table.

"Are you alright?" He asked her softly after moments of still silence.

Clara squeezed her towel into a long twist, letting the stained water trickle into the pail. "I'm ok."

"I'm here to listen you know? You look upset. You should talk."

"And say what Davey? Confess that my actions have resulted into what could possibly be the death of my best friend? A wife, a daughter, a mother?"

"I just don't want you to bottle it all up."

She wiped away a tear. "Sorry, that was mean."

Davey rubbed her hand, kneading circles into her tendons. "It's ok. I'm used to being Jack's personal punching bag for all his emotional baggage."

She giggled slightly at this. "How's he holding up?"

"Better than I thought. He's crazy about that little girl, though. I think he sees Katherine in her."

"To me she was all Jack."

"I think she's the perfect muddled up version of the two of them."

Clara smiled and let her towel sink to the bottom of the pail. She dried her hands off on her skirt and went to kiss Davey's cheek. "Can you stay tonight?"

"I'm sure I can work something out."

"I'm going to need all the help I can get."

"And ya mom's favourite colour is lilac. And daddy's favourite is blue." Jack explained softly to his daughter in the same position they had been in all night. It was very early in the morning and he was trying to get her to sleep. It wasn't as if she was crying, she just wouldn't close her eyes which gave Jack another reason to stay up and look over Katherine. He had started telling her things about her parents for the past hour; before it was their favourite foods, then their favourite animals and now it had changed to colours.

"Y'know, ya still ain't got a name princess." He kissed her nose. "Ya mom liked Victoria and Charlotte, but I reckon they're too prissy for a Kelly girl. How about... Jessica?" He looked at her and raised his brows. "Maybe...Lillian? Or Lilly?" She slipped her tongue out and Jack chuckled. "No? Not Lilly? How about... Lizzie? Ya mom likes it because Elizabeth sounds all proper and formal in front of her parents and we can call you Lizzie when they ain't around. That sound like a deal kiddo?" She gurgled and Jack swore he could detect a smile on her delicate little lips.

Just as he pressed a big kiss to her forehead, the door creaked open and an unkept looking Marie and Joseph Pulitzer came through, shock on their faces as they rushed to their daughter's side.

"Speak of the devil." He whispered to Lizzie.

"Oh Jack! What happened?" Marie cried as she wept over Katherine's figure beneath the duvet.

"Clara said it was severe bleeding. She's stable now though." Jack had to say it through his teeth. He wasn't really sure if that was true, but he knew that he couldn't just upright say that it wasn't to their faces.

"Oh thank god." She caught sight of Lizzie and her tears turned into those of happiness. "Is this my grand baby?"

Jack smiled and passed the baby to her, in which she gurgled and blinked calmly enjoying all of the attention and new people she was meeting. She must have been bored spending all of her time with her father, Jack thought.

"Isn't she beautiful," she cooed, her eyes glazing with adoration. "Joseph look at her." Joseph sighed and pressed a kiss to Katherine's temple, before proceeding to come and look at his granddaughter.

Marie held Lizzie tight whilst her husband offered one of his rare smiles. He protruded his index finger to brush her cheek but it was quickly seized by all five of the infant's fingers tightly.

Jack laughed behind the back of his hand. Pulitzer flickered his gaze towards him, still upholding the smile thank god. "She's got a strong grip."

"Like her mother's." He replied. "Does she have a name?"

"Elizabeth. Lizzie. That's what Katherine wanted. She ain't got no second names yet; Katherine wanted her input in that I'm sure."

Marie took a long breath and turned her head to Katherine. She looked gaunt lying in the bed. The once rosy pinch of her cheeks had flooded and her flesh resembled the colour of marble. Veins in her eyelids stood out in their prominent blue hue and beneath them dark circles ringed her under eyes. Her head was propped up against two of the plush pillows which tilted her chin up, where her cracked lips parted acutely. Jack wondered if their baby understood why her mother was lying there; did she even understand that she was her mother?

Marie spoke softly. "You don't need to lie to us Jack." Her words shocked him. "I'm a mother of many years and I know how these things happen so often in our day and age. There is no guarantee for a woman with child to make it to the end. I've seen many a time when its even come to the decision between saving the child or the mother. I know that this is the likely case for our Katherine. But please, listen to us. We want the best upbringing for our granddaughter. Let us take care of the finances; you even know yourself you can't support her on your own salary."

Jack stiffened his expression. "I appreciate the offer, but I can't. Katherine ain't dead, nor is she going to be and I don't need you to tellin me that I ain't up to the task of bein a good father!" His voice raised itself to the point where he was afraid he had scared Lizzie. She however just looked at him with confusion, the same way Joseph and Marie did. Jack ran a hand through his unruly dark hair and took back Lizzie. "I'd appreciate it if you left me with my wife and daughter."

Pulitzer tightened his mouth into a hard line before trying to advance on Jack. "Now she's my daughter too so don't you go telling me when or when not I can see her-"

Marie took his arm and held him back. "Joseph he's right. We need to let them be. We've had Katherine's pleasure for seventeen years, but this little one, well she's hardly known her at all." Pulitzer grumbled something under his breath but obeyed his wife. At the turn of the door, Marie smiled at Jack. "We'll check in with you soon."

It had rolled into the next day's afternoon and Katherine had been out for almost a day. While Jack remained by her side, Davey and Clara took Lizzie briefly downstairs to give her a bottle of formula. It had dawned on them when she began to wail profusely that she hadn't ever been fed since the moment she was born. With Katherine out of action, they had to compromise with the powdered formula Clara had sent Davey to buy from the pharmacy. Down in the kitchen, Davey held the newborn in his arms whilst Clara tried her best to get the bottle into her mouth.

"Sweetheart," she pleaded. "You have to drink it. I have nothing else to give you."

"Why doesn't she want it?" Davey frowned trying to keep the struggling baby upright.

"It's not from Katherine that's why."

"How would she even know the difference?"

"Babies just understand these things." Lizzie had had enough and tossed her little head away to Davey's chest. "Lizzie!"

"God she's like Jack. Stubborn as ever."

"And Katherine. I hope that Lizzie turns out not be double the stubbornness they both have." Clara shook her head, sighing. She took the baby from Davey and bounced her gently against her chest. "Sweetheart don't you worry. Your mommy's gonna be with you as fast as you can say milk formula's awful."

"Well seeing as she's only about a day old-" Davey began.

"Shut up Davey." She smiled though and leant into him as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. They looked down at their friends' daughter who's eyelids began to grow heavy. She shifted her little mouth into a yawn, and drifted off to sleep in Clara's arms.

"She needs to be fed." Clara murmured. "She's going to get malnourished."

"Katherine will come to it soon, won't she?"

"I gave her the oxytocin to stop the bleeding. I just hope she hadn't already lost too much."

"She'll be ok. She just needs rest. To recover."

Clara nodded. "Hopefully." She raised her lips into a smile watching Lizzie trying to shift to get comfortable. "But look at their baby Davey."

She felt his lips at her jaw. "Makes you want one yourself."

Clara raised her brows and turned into him. "Are you saying we should have our own baby?"

"Maybe not just yet." He laughed. "Marriage first, then perhaps a baby."

"Marriage?" She smiled, her powder blue eyes sparkling.

He kissed her softly and instantly. "After all of this blows over."

"David, I don't know-"

"Oh come on! Jack and Katherine did it. We can't be all that different, can we?"

"This is a bad time and you know it. If Jack hears a word that you and I are engaged it's going to crush his heart. We're practically rubbing salt into his wounds."

Davey rubbed her biceps and kissed her again, this time lingering a little longer, enough so that Clara found it difficult to pull away. "Wait for me then." He whispered into her.

She smiled, content with his solution. "Okay."

"Alright kiddo," Jack sighed, tucking Lizzie into her blush chiffon draped bassinet that evening. It had been Katherine's parents gift at the baby shower and hadn't been used as Jack had been just sleeping with her in his arms. "You sleepy yet?"

Lizzie gnawed on her hand and flashed her father with her big green eyes. She let out a little grunt which Jack chuckled at and tickled her chin then kissed her forehead. "G'night my love."

He padded his way to the armchair and sat down tiredly. He threw the woollen blanket from the couch over his body and curled up settling himself to go to sleep as well. He managed to squeeze in a couple of hours of rest before he was awoken to the slam of the doors to the balcony. His eyes were shot open wide and he immediately looked to the bassinet to check if Lizzie was still sleeping soundly. There was no noise or movements from behind the chiffon so he assumed she was. The doors still rattled from the wind outside and he had to rub his eyes before getting up to close them. Once he saw that they were locked, Jack leant his temple against the glass panel, shutting his eyes for a moment.

"Jack?" He thought he was dreaming when he heard it. Raspy and so unbelievably warm and familiar, he knew he wasn't. When he turned around to the bed, he grinned with hope. Tears pooled in his eyes and threatened to spill. Katherine was awake.


	26. F is for Friends and Family

**Tad late I know, but I'm in the middle of exam block at school and I've been prepping for this rediculous** **government exam everyone in my state has to do tomorrow on the Crucible. It's one of my favourite plays but writing an essay to an unknown question for it is really hard. Anyway, read on. I love you all. **

**X layla**

It only took Jack a short instant of time to rush to Katherine's side. She, confined beneath all of the duvets, shifted her neck and managed a small smile, her eyelids still fluttered shut.

"Ace?" He said, in disbelief.

"Jack... What happened?" She slowly blinked her eyes open, adjusting to the darkness. "Where am I?"

Jack sat on the edge of the bed and slowed her down from getting up too quickly. "Easy girl." She still looked pale and the dark circles remained under her eyes. She however had regained a little more blood flow in her flesh, tinging it towards her usual colour. "Your in our bed, with me. Ya lost a lotta blood though."

She groaned softly and shut her eyes again. As soon as her head fell back on the pillow though, she blinked them back open, wide with alarm. "Jack!"

"What, what's wrong?"

"The baby! Is the baby ok?" She tried to get up but Jack just held her shoulders down and hushed her, smoothing her hair back and tracing her jaw with his hand. He noticed her eyes tear and her throat begin to choke. She thought she'd lost the baby, he thought. She thought that he'd saved her at the cost of their child.

"Jack, please tell me the baby's fine." She sobbed.

He nodded and kissed her forehead. "She's fine. Better than fine."

She grinned with relief and he wiped the tears off her cheek. "She?"

"Mhm." Jack kissed her again and got up to walk to the bassinet. With careful hands, he pulled back the chiffon and lifted Lizzie, still asleep, into his arms. He slowly and cautiously came back to the bed, and grinned at Katherine who was looking at awe in their daughter. She freed her arms from the thick blankets and welcomed the baby into her chest as Jack handed her over gently. At all of the movement and hushed cries of her parents, Lizzie stirred and began to cry. Katherine shushed her, smiling widely. There was nothing more innocent and perfect she had ever seen in her life. Lizzie began to settle when Katherine held her tighter.

"Hello my love." Katherine cooed. Jack climbed next to them on his side of the bed and strokes Lizzie's dark tuft of hair. Katherine turned to him. "God she looks like you. Did you name her already?"

"Elizabeth. I know ya liked it. I thought Lizzie was a real good medium between class, and well, my class."

"Lizzie... She pondered, her scratchy voice lingering on the constants. "I like it."

"She still ain't got a middle name though."

"When I was six, my father first let me use his old typewriter and I'd write stories on it all day. I used to write about a little girl named Violette who was the princess of her own castle and told everyone when she wanted to eat, when she wanted to sleep and didn't have to attend her tutor's lessons all day." She laughed lightly, caught in her memory.

"Elizabeth Violette Kelly." Jack tested it out. A smile spread across his face and he kissed Katherine's cheek. "Has a nice ring to it, hey?"

The next morning, Jack woke up first in their bed. He didn't blame Katherine that she slept in further; she was still so exhausted from the whole birthing ordeal. He had been careful when they had put Lizzie back in her bassinet the night before and went to bed. He was worried that if he held her as tight and close as they usually did, he'd hurt her. Clara had explained that everything was still so delicate and she risked bleeding again. But curled up peacefully in the sheets, her chest rising and falling softly, she seemed okay for the moment.

He threw on a shirt and got up to go to the door, turning however on his way out. Both Lizzie and Katherine were dead asleep, and he chuckled to himself. His girls, Jack thought. He liked the sound of that.

"When are ya going to leave my house David?" Jack growled playfully on his way into the kitchen downstairs, grabbing his friend in a headlock. "When Clara leaves?"

Davey pulled him off, laughing as much as Jack and elbowing him in the ribs. Jack doubled over, his grin still beaming. "When you get your shit together Jack."

"Hey, I got my shit together!" He retorted. "I got me a wife and now a kid too. I'd say that's pretty good for someone like me."

"Too bad you're still an asshole."

Jack shook his head and raised his brows. Davey bore a ridiculous crescent on his mouth and put his arms up as Jack went to tackle him on the floor. Laughing and throwing soft punches, they didn't realise Clara stride into the room and stand above them.

She cleared her throat. "What the hell are you two imbeciles doing?"

"Hey sweetheart." Davey greeted her from beneath Jack's crushing weight on his chest. "Just you know, male stuff."

"Oh so manly." She rolled her eyes. "Now come on Jack, get up. You'll wake up Katherine and the baby."

"Me?" He squawked. "Clar, I had to defend myself!"

"You came at me!" Davey glared.

"Whatever, I don't care!" She hissed. "Now both of you be quiet and help me make breakfast."

They chuckled and muttered a few hurtful phrases to each other before getting up and gathering items and ingredients from the cupboards.

With the stove going, frying eggs and bacon in one pan and balsamic mushrooms in another, Clara kept a steady eye not only on the food, but Jack and Davey too. She had set them out to chop different things on separate cutting boards on either side of her to keep them apart and their antics at bay. They both however had begun tossing cubes of mushrooms and tomatoes behind her back.

A piece hit her in the temple and Jack cursed whilst Davey tried his hardest not to laugh. This time it was Clara who was making all the noise.

"Jack Kelly! I swear to God!" She growled aggressively, pulling squished tomato out of her hairline. "Why are you such a son of a-"

"What's wrong?" From the top of the stairs that peeked through the doorway, Katherine clung to the wooden railing. She had put on a new nightgown but her hair and face were both still a mess.

"Hey! No,no,no,no!" Clara cried and ran to Katherine's side. "You're not supposed to move from bed. Do you want to rip those stitches?"

Katherine nodded and her little sleepy eyelids and upturn of her brows almost broke everyone's heart. "Sorry, I just thought something had happened."

"Nothing's happened. We're all fine. You're fine. The baby-"

"She's sleeping like an angel." Katherine grinned with a yawn. She noticed Jack and Davey through the doorway who had halted their food fight. "Morning boys."

"Mornin." They chorused together, instantaneously elbowing one another again.

"Do I want to know?" She turned to Jack.

He shook his head. "Nah, probably not. Go back to bed Ace, I'll come back up in a minute."

When Jack returned to their bedroom with a tray of her breakfast, he found his wife nursing their daughter in bed.

He stopped at the doorway, leaning against the frame, and watched how calm they both were. Katherine had her cradled tightly, and was humming some tune that lulled Lizzie to the point where she was almost asleep again. Katherine didn't look up, but waved Jack in with her wrist. "She woke up hungry." She whispered.

"I'm sure you are as well." Jack gestured to the tray and went to set it down by her side on the mattress, which he climbed onto also. He kissed her lips softly and gently before replicating another on his daughter's skull. "G'morning Princess."

She pulled away from Katherine's breast, fussy and pulling faces. It seemed she was full. Katherine pulled up her nightgown again and sat the baby upright against her, allowing her stomach to settle. "You want to say good morning to your daddy?" She cooed.

Jack took her in his arms and nuzzled her crown, taking a moment to kiss her head.

"You know she shouldn't be subjected to bed rest too," Katherine said. "It wouldn't hurt to take her out and show her some sunshine, she's a little pale. Marguerite and her husband did give us that stroller."

"That's true." He murmured, his lips still against Lizzie's scalp. "But I feel guilty. I want ya to come too."

"Please, I'll be fine."

Jack sighed and passed Lizzie a look. "If ya say so Mommy."

He hadn't bothered taking the stroller when he did take Lizzie out that late afternoon. For one, he thought it was the ugliest shade of grey he had ever seen, and two, Lizzie hadn't been happy when he had tried to put her in. She had become very clingy in response to him spoiling her with 24/7 hugs and kisses. Instead, she remained in his arms, wrapped tightly in her woollen cream blanket that the boys at the lodging house had given her.

She bounced along quietly as Jack carried her down the streets, absentmindedly passing by some of his old selling spots. He almost dropped her when he heard is name called loudly from behind them.

"Hey Jack!" He turned and saw it was Crutchie, hobbling down the pavement with his crutch. A bag of papers slung over his arm and his hat sitting lopsided, he looked excited to see his friend and the new baby.

"Crutch!"

"Is this the new Kelly addition?" He said, marvelling at the little girl. With his free arm he brushed her cheek with his thumb, making her smile.

"Lizzie meet'cha uncle Crutchie." Jack murmured.

"Lizzie. I like it. She's got Katherine's nose."

"And her smile, look at that." he laughed, tickling her tummy and blowing a raspberry on her cheek.

"How is Kathy?" Crutchie said softly. "We's got pretty worried."

"She's fine. Clara's got her on bed rest but she's awake and doing okay. She's just exhausted really."

"Is she up for the boys coming over to see her and the baby?"

Jack smiled. "You know, I think she just might be."

Jack returned home later, after taking Lizzie to see the ducks and squirrels at Central Park. She hadn't been all that interested in them for she began to miss her mother dearly. When he walked through the bedroom door, her face lit up when she saw Katherine's outstretched arms and warm smile from where she was lying bed.

"My baby!" She grinned and took Lizzie into her embrace. "Lizzie I missed you!" Lizzie was showered with kisses.

"Ya gonna tell mommy bout the squirrels?" Jack laughed. Lizzie turned to look at her father as if to say, what squirrels?

"Squirrels? Goodness, where's Daddy taking you my love?"

"Maybe ya should tell her who else we saw on our way too." Jack prompted. Lizzie looked at both her parents, a little confused.

Katherine raised her brow.

"Hey Crutch! Bring em in!" Jack called to the door. Katherine didn't have time to react when the door frame filled with heads of scruffy newsboys, all eager to see her and the baby.

"Plums!" Race cried.

"Watch it Race!" Specs scowled as the boy pushed past him, knocking his glasses askew. "Ya don't have to rush- is that the kid?" He forgot about his glasses and followed after Race, alongside the rest of the boys who crowded around the foot of the bed.

"How ya feelin Plums?" Race said, this time softer. He became aware that his usually brass tone would probably disturb the baby. The rest of the boys followed his lead, keeping their chatter and laughs to a minimum volume.

Katherine propped her chin on her palm and yawned. "Tired. How are you all? I haven't seen you in ages."

Romeo laughed. "S'only been a day or so Kath."

"Feels so much longer." She admitted and smiled downwards to Lizzie, who rested against her chest, wide eyed and quiet. "And you missy. Look how many uncles you have."

The boys flashed grins instantly, fidgeting in their spots to get a closer look. Katherine sat her up to face them, supporting her fragile back and head.

"What's her name?" Finch asked.

"Don't tell us ya named her after ya dad. Josephine anyone? Joanne perhaps?" Sniggered Albert. He had a round of approving chuckles, but Jack shot him a look of narrow eyes and it settled down. "Al, ya know I couldn't do that. She's my kid." He joined in with their laughter.

Katherine hit his arm and her mouth formed a hardline. "That's my father you're talking about."

"But c'mon Plums. It's true, ain't it?" Said Race.

She sighed and nodded. "It is."

"Ah c'mon though! We're all waitin. What's the kid's name?"

Jack smiled and took Lizzie from Katherine. "Elizabeth Violette Kelly. Or Lizzie, if ya please." He kissed her nose and a smile tugged on her lips. "Y'wanna meet everyone Princess?" Jack handed her over to Race carefully who held her on his lap. The boys waited eagerly for their turn to hold her, but for the meantime, gathered in closer to Race.

"Who's a pretty goil?" He cooed affectionately. "I'm ya uncle Race, sweets. Ya favourite uncle by the way-" he was interrupted by a series of angry shouts from the others claiming him wrong. Lizzie was smiling again at the excitement and reached for Race's hat, swiping it clean off his head. "Hey, what're ya tryin to pull on me?" He laughed whilst Lizzie grasped it tightly.

As Lizzie was passed around gently by the boys, Jack and Katherine smiled together.

"She loves the attention, look at her Ace." He chuckled into her ear.

"I wonder who she got that from."

"Hey!" He protested and kissed her lips, making her giggle.

"Would you two not, there's a kid here." Called out Albert, who had their daughter bouncing on his knee.

"Sorry." He shrugged and proceeded to kiss Katherine again.

"This is exactly how she got pregnant in the first place." Specs rolled his eyes.

"What do ya mean by that?" Les frowned next to Davey. His brother quickly slapped his knee and tried to come up with an explanation for the boy. "He means that, uh... Do you remember that time when you walked in on them on the fire escape at the lodging house?"

Les grimaced. "Ok, ok. I understand, just please stop talking David."

Jack had to break away from Katherine to laugh, in which she followed too. In tears, she rested her head against Jack's chest and smiled at their friends playing with their daughter. Life at the moment for Jack and herself could be described as perfect.


	27. Checkups

**Late and short, I'm sorry. But I'm posting two chapters at the same time so yay that's a first. Enjoy :) **

**layla x**

"And has she been sleeping well?" Asked Dr. Rosenheim, the obstetrician looking after baby Lizzie.

In their living room, Katherine and Jack sat close on their couch, with Lizzie being weighed on a set of scales that had been placed on the coffee table.

"She sleeps a lot." Katherine smiled. "Sometimes I think she sleeps too much."

Dr. Rosenheim chuckled. "There's no such thing for a newborn baby. You should count your blessings. Most babies aren't so quiet."

"We's count ourselves lucky for all the blessings that come our way doc." Jack glanced at Katherine, his tone hollow. "To have both my wife and my daughter healthy is my real blessin."

"Well I'm happy to hear that. And Mrs. Kelly you are doing fine." Dr. Rosenheim agreed. He scribbled down the scale figure on his notepad and then went to measure Lizzie's body with his tape measure. "Six point eight pounds, and 19.8 inches. She's a very normal, healthy girl." He announced. With two hands, he raised Lizzie by her sides and handed her back to Katherine, then prepped a small syringe from his medical bag.

"What's that for?" Jack nodded to the needle. He frowned as Dr. Rosenheim edged closer to Lizzie in Katherine's arms and protectively shielded their baby with his own arm.

"Jack. He's just immunising her. It's like a little bee sting." Katherine soothed him.

"That'll hurt her."

"It will hurt her more to die from influenza and everything else going around in the city. Now come on, move your arm." He reluctantly let go, best still rested his hand on Lizzie's hip. Her arm was taken and the syringe was pricked into her. The sounds of his baby girl wailing made Jack want to take her and push this guy away.

"Hey, hey- Sweetheart it's ok." He hushed her, whilst at the same time Katherine stroked her hair and kept her lips firmly on her temple.

The doctor removed the needle slowly, and then wiped the area with a swab soaked in alcohol. The strong sting made Lizzie cry louder. They held her a little tighter and Katherine this time was the one to quieten her down. "I know it hurts baby, I know. Shh, your daddy and I don't like it either." After being rocked carefully, and after many kisses, she finally settled down.

"Good set of lungs on her too." Smirked Dr. Rosenheim. "I'm sure that was from you Mr. Kelly."

Jack laughed. "You'd be surprised. My wife can be a bit of a screamer too-"

"Jack!" Katherine whacked his foot with her own and glared daggers.

Dr. Rosenheim shook his head and set away his leather bag. He picked it up by the handle and went to the front door, Katherine following behind him. "I won't get into the middle of any of that." He chuckled, shutting the door behind him. At the click of the lock being turned, Katherine whipped her head around to where Jack was still sitting with the tired looking Lizzie. "You can't say that." She hissed angrily.

"Y'shouldn't get embarrassed Ace," he raised his brows and smiled, his head rolled back against the head of the couch. "Ya know I love it when ya get vocal with me."

"Jack."

"Ugh. And when ya say my name in that tone."

"Our daughter is in your lap."

"Let's put her to bed."

She folded her arms and pursed her lips. "Her crib is in our room."

"Let's do it on the couch then." He was grinning like an idiot and she was trying hard not to.

Katherine rolled her eyes. "You've only been sex deprived for a week. Why are you so concupiscent?"

"Dumb that down for me sweetheart?"

"Horny, Jack." She exclaimed flatly. "Why are you so horny?"

"A week is too long." He groaned.

"We were abstinent for nine months while I was pregnant!" She laughed. "Well, get used to it. It's going to be a while until I'm given the all clear. I did just push a human out of my vagina only a week ago."

He made a face and picked up Lizzie to go put her in her crib. "Y'know when you say vagina, it just turns me off completely."

"Good."

That evening, they had put Lizzie to bed early and were milling around on the lower floor together. With their legs crossed over each other, they sat on opposing ends of the couch, Katherine recording and organising notes in her workbook and Jack sketching political cartoons. Whilst Katherine stayed and worked at home on her maternity leave from the Sun, Jack had gone back to work only a few days after Lizzie had been born. He was transfixed by his current piece and was having difficulty with drawing the crooked nose of one of the politicians he was mocking.

"Looks good from here." Katherine murmured, flicking her eyes to his.

"Yeah? I don't think I'm fully encaptualin' his asshole of a personality."

She giggled and rubbed her toes against the soles of his feet. "Are you hungry?"

He closed his sketch pad and payed her his full attention, a smile lit in his eyes. "Always."

She hoisted herself up and kissed him softly on the lips before she went to the kitchen. After having Lizzie, Jack and Katherine had found themselves receiving more food than what was necessary. Davey's mother had made spaghetti, Darcy had left a pound cake, Bill had bought a batch of macaroons and Katherine's sisters had cooked a dozen or so red velvet cupcakes that gleamed with thick cream cheese frosting. Seeing as Jack had already eaten with her earlier, she plated up a dusty pink macaroon and a cupcake and then went to brew him a hot mug of coffee.

When she came carefully back to the couch, he had stretched his legs to the other end and his eyes were closed. He sensed her footsteps though and shot one eye open, happy at the sight of his wife and the gifts she had brought.

"Is that red velvet?" He asked curiously.

"The Pulitzer special."

"Man I'm glad I married into my boss's family." He chuckled and took a swipe at the cupcake when Katherine decided to sit herself into his legs. "Is that the only reason your glad?"

"Yeah, to cuddle up to ya father too."

She narrowed her eyes as she tilted her head back. He kissed her with a smile. "I'm kiddin. I love you."


	28. Interrupted Again

Jack sat his desk, ink pot beside his sketch pad, paint brush in hand, and looked out of the window in front of him. He had to give it to the Sun, they had a magnificent view of Park row and the rest of downtown Manhattan. Probably even better than the World, but he wouldn't say that to Katherine's father the next time he came for dinner at the Kelly house. As he looked out the thick glass, he became aware that he was procrastinating from his work. It was expected; office work was drab in comparison to the adventure of selling papers in the street. Perhaps he'd return part time to the streets, he thought internally. It would give him another excuse, other than being union leader, to go see the boys. His pondering was interrupted by the smack of fresh ink pots on the wooden surface of his desk, which made him dart his eyes quickly to the culprit.

"Darcy." He greeted with a sigh. "How's ya mornin?"

Darcy pushed up his gold wired glasses, and shoved his hands in his coat pockets. "Fine." His tone was _unstable_ and the way his grey eyes avoided Jack's made him seem unnerved.

"You alright kid?" Jack asked, raising a brow. "Ya look a little odd."

Darcy shook his head and swept a hand through his hair. He put on a smile. "Yeah, I'm swell. Just swell."

"Ya don't look swell to me."

He took a deep breath and exhaled, and shoulders dropped. It was like he had let go of a heavy load. "Can I talk to you about something? You can't tell Katherine, or the boys, or-"

"Ya can trust me." Jack smiled. "Spit it out."

Davey nodded and slowly exhaled. "I may have been with someone in one of the printing rooms downstairs, doing...you know-"

He smirked. "Oh believe me Darc, I know."

"Well, we thought we were not going to be interrupted, but then Dana walked in." Jack tried to contain his laughter, but Darcy could see right through him. "Would you not?"

"Sorry, I just find it hilarious that our boss, of all people, was the one to catch you in the act. Can I ask who it was you were with by the way?"

Darcy mumbled an answer, and Jack had to ask again to hear it. "Peggy Reynolds."

Jack smacked his fist on the desk top and widened his eyes. "Ya screwed leggy Peggy, the secretary?"

"Leggy Peggy?" Darcy raised a brow. "And maybe I did. We've been seeing one another for almost a month now. Why is that so hard to believe?"

Jack shook his head, grinning dreamily about the girl who worked in front of Dana's office. "It's just...she's such an attractive broad, y'know?"

"Hey. You're a married man."

"Nah, I wouldn't trade Katherine for her any day. Why trade a beautiful reporter for a beautiful secretary? Even if Katherine is lower to the ground."

"I feel horrible. What if he fires the both of us?"

"Nah, knowing Dana he probably got a good laugh." Jack set down his brush and wiped his ink stained hands with the dirty rag he kept in his drawer. "You wanna know about how I got walked in on though?"

Darcy sat down on the edge of the desk and folded his arms. He looked miserable. "I already heard about David's brother."

"Oh, this was much worse."

_It was after their engagement almost a year ago, that Katherine and Jack were together in Katherine's bedroom in the Pulitzer mansion. They lounged together on her queen sized, silk covered bed. Although Jack was not supposed to be there, Katherine was staying with her parents for the weekend to spend time with them. However, she wasn't really living up to the visit's true purpose._

_"I like how you were only going to pick me up to go to Remy's Italian, and then came back with me like you're staying the night." Katherine sarcastically let out in one breath. Her eyes were fixed to the ceiling and she lounged ridiculously posed against her powder pink pillows. Jack had set her up like this and had been drawing her on his sketch pad for what felt like an hour to Katherine. _

_Jack squinted at her before reaching out to curl her fingers tighter. "Don't get ya panties in a twist. I'll leave as soon as I finish this."_

_She groaned at the back of her throat. It was the only action she could perform without moving. She had to say something after minutes more of torture, for she couldn't bear it any longer. "Jack are you finished?"_

_He frowned. "Gimme a second. I need to finish your damn hand."_

_"My damn hand?"_

_"There. Done." He pushed the pad in front of her face and she held her arms up high above her to see it. She smiled. "Very talented. I love it." The intricacy of the whole piece amazed her like the first time she saw his art at Medda's theatre before the strike. She had always wondered how he had the patience to complete such tasks. _

_Jack grinned and climbed onto her hips. Katherine dropped the sketch pad and it hit the bed with a muffled thud. Their hands intertwined and were pulled down to their ears, leading to Jack crushing his lips onto hers. She was smiling as much as he was and Jack felt it against her touch. "What happened to you going?" She giggled. _

_Jack pressed himself against her hard. "It's a lonely place in that lodging house. Ya gotta give me somethin to take home with."_

_"Lonely? You're surrounded by the boys."_

_"Everythin's lonely without you Ace."_

_"You're pathetic Jack Kelly!" She laughed and tossed her head back as he seized her neck with kisses. In response to the dulled bites along her flesh that made her moan, Katherine slipped her hands out of Jack's and smoothed them down his back. She reached his backside and the pressure of her fingertips increased slightly, causing Jack to bite her a little harder than usual. She cried softly, but smacked her hand over her mouth to keep herself quiet. She couldn't risk being caught like this by her family. Her life would be terminated in an instant._

_Katherine pulled away from his lips for a moment and pressed her forehead to his. "Can we get under the covers Jack?"_

_He nodded with an, "if you say so" and separated to pull the end of the covers at the foot of the bed up. Katherine gave him a look. He shot one back. "What's wrong missy?"_

_"Why are you pulling the end up?" She folded her arms. _

_"Cause I didn't wanna mess up ya three hundred pillows ya got goin on." He mocked her and gestured to the truly ridiculous assortment of cushions behind them. _

_"What a gentlemen. Whatever just get back to what you were doing." They slipped under the weighty, feathered down duvet, with their heads in the direction of the door. Jack mounted her hips again and bit her ear. "You mean this?"_

_"Yes." She tried not to blush, but her cheeks felt pink and. Jack could feel her against his own cheeks and it made him grin. He was in total control this time, and it was beginning to go to his head. His rough hands wandered down to her waist where they caressed the seams of the crisp white lace blouse. The material was untucked from her navy skirt quickly and pulled over her head. The sharp zip of her skirt was next, proceeding Jack's pants and cotton shirt, all of which were thrown to the carpet. _

_Kisses were peppered between her breasts whilst Jack cohesively stripped her of her chemise and underwear. Katherine slipped her fingers under his own underwear, and yanked them off to fling them in a slingshot manner across the room. _

_Under the covers, their limbs tangled and their flesh felt like it was melding together from the heat. Their breathing grew thicker and hands scavenged around to bring the other euphoria. Jack's palms smacked against Katherine's breasts and she bit his lip when he seized her mouth. _

_"N-Jack!" She squeaked. He had brought his left hand down between her legs and rubbed roughly against her folds. The tight bundle of nerves ached against his touch, sending Katherine's head lolling off the mattress. His mouth reached for her throat and he sucked hard to leave his mark on her. She groaned. "I'm going to have to wear high neck blouses for weeks now. Idiot." _

_He laughed into her skin and teased her harder. His fingers came to her entrance and circled her wetness. When he inserted his index and middle finger, she became putty in his hands again. For minutes, until she came with a airy cry, he thrusted into her. Coming off her high, she took his jaw and kissed him and murmured, "take me now. Please."_

_She didn't need to say it twice. In a short moment, Jack had entered her swiftly and bit her shoulder at the glorious feeling. By morning, she was going to look like she had been abused. _

_"Katherine," he managed. "God, Katherine." He was pounding faster now. She rebounded every time into the bounce of the mattress, inertia coming into play. They both silently thanked whoever was up there for making Katherine's parents wealthy enough to buy a bed that didn't squeak. On Jack's bunk in the lodging house, they would been caught at foreplay. _

_"Jack harder," Katherine breathed. "Faster, please. I-"_

_They both couldn't react quick enough. With a rattle of the brass door knob, the door swung open and there loomed none other than Katherine's father. _

_Jack's head shot up from Katherine's neck and he thanked God that his chest was pressed against hers enough that her breasts were concealed. She upside down, however, had her eyes wide in fear and her mouth gasped open. "Father!"_

_Pulitzer didn't need to be spoken for. His cheeks flooded with blood, hot and boiling with rage. Thosepiercing blue eyes bore into his daughter and her beau with such anger and intensity. "Jack Kelly get the damn hell off my daughter!" _

"You got caught by Joseph Pulitzer?" Darcy exclaimed, beyond disbelief.

Jack nodded smugly, as if it were some trophy. "And lived to tell the tale."

Darcy pinched the golden wired bridge of his glasses and held his hand up. "Okay, okay. Weren't you and Katherine engaged though? Why would he care?"

"I hadn't told him that I'd asked her yet. To him we's were still just a relationship he was certain he could unravel before it got too out of hand."

Darcy pulled his mouth into a wincing expression. "Ouch. So, did you get kicked out?"

Jack chuckled. "Darc, I can't get kicked out when I wasn't invited in to begin with. Let's just say Joe gave us a firm talkin' to."

_By now, both Jack and Katherine had rolled off one another and had wrapped themselves up in the duvet and under sheets. Pulitzer, however, remained where he had stormed in from. His arms were folded tightly over his chest and his feet were planted in a towering stance. "And just what do you think you are doing?" He demanded, really not referring to either of them. _

_"Father please-" Katherine tried, but Pulitzer held up his hand and she held her tongue. "Don't you try and charm your way out of this, young lady!" He snapped at her. "If I wanted a harlot for a daughter, I would have raised her that way!"_

_"She ain't no harlot!" Jack fired, anger rising in his tone. Pulitzer ignored him and ground his jaw firmly. He continued to stare at Katherine, who had begun to cower into her sheets. "I'm giving you both a minute to get dressed. Then I want to talk to you girl." She nodded weakly, looking down to avoid Jack's sympathetic eyes. The door slammed and Pulitzer was gone, which alleviated the heavy weight in the room. _

_Katherine let out a sigh and dropped the sheet to retrieve her clothing. She looked like she was ready to cry. "God dammit."_

"_Hey, Ace. Don't say that." Jack stroked her arm. "That's what I say."_

_She didn't giggle like she usually did when he said things like that. This time she looked at him sadly, her bottom lip quivering. "Jack he's going to kill me. I'll be forced to move back home and I'll never see you again."_

_Jack pulled her into tight hug and kissed her hair. "That ain't gonna happen, kid. Not on my watch." Katherine pulled away and took his face in her hands and kissed him fiercely. "Can you pass me my dressing gown?" Jack handed her the lilac silk robe that was hanging on her door and continued to put on his own clothing. With a tight pull of the rope at her waist, Katherine smoothed her messy chocolate curls and slipped out into the hall way. The door stayed ajar and was enough for Jack to receive an earful of what her father was saying to her._

_"Katherine." He heard Pulitzer's firm voice. Then there was the sharp hitch of her breath that followed the resounding smack against her cheek. Jack's blood began to boil and he noticed his fist curl tight against his belt that he was buckling his pants with. He was trying all his might not to go out and smack Pulitzer himself. _

_"What in damnation has gotten into you girl?" Pulitzer demanded. "Why in the last year have you done everything in your power to disobey me? First the apartment, then the reporting, now this- this boy!"_

_"Father, I love him!" She cried. Jack could pick up the lump in her throat that was making her speak through sobs._

_"You're 16 Katherine!"_

_"I don't care!"_

_"At your height in society, you shouldn't even be worried about love. You're role is to marry and bring children; carry on our family honour. You're too distracted by a career and a fix of temporary obsession to be doing this properly!" _

_"But doesn't mother love you? Why is that so different to me loving Jack?" She was pleading this time. Desperate. _

_"That's entirely different because your mother was not born into this status. And neither was I. We had nothing else but love for each other. Two immigrants from poor backgrounds who came to this city with barely anything but the clothes on our _backs. _I worked my whole life to make sure my family lived more than comfortably. I worked hard to bring us a name in this city. So don't you dare abuse it by making a whore of yourself, you absolute disgrace!" There was another stinging slap. By now Jack was ready to stick Pulitzer's head where the sun didn't shine. _

_When Pulitzer spoke next, he had toned down to a more pleading, less blaming voice. "What happened to my smart girl?" He tried. "The one who showed an interest to papers, rather than Maggie and Georgia who couldn't care less. You used to make the right decisions. You used to lead the examples for your sisters." _

_"I'm not that girl anymore."_

_"Do you even know the risks of intercourse? Infections, diseases, pregnancy. Do you know what that kind of outcome could do to our family's reputation? It's as if you being merely seen with that street rat was not enough!"_

_Katherine sniffed her sobs down. "Take this all out on me, but don't bring him into this. It was my fault. I-I made him do it."_

_Jack stormed out of his hiding spot immediately. "Hey, that ain't true! It was me. I was basically throwin myself on ya daughter, Joe."_

_Pulitzer raised his brow. "Throwing yourself?"_

_Katherine wiped her tears with back of her hand and glared at Jack. "No you were not! We've established that I'm the slut already. Haven't we father?" Pulitzer opened his mouth but Jack was faster. "Slut? How about me? I'm the biggest man whore there is in New York! Ya ain't gonna find anythin like me anywhere else. Not even the Bowery, and I can assure you, I've visited enough to know."_

_Katherine's jaw dropped and she shot Jack a glare, then smacked him square on the cheek. "Before you met me I hope!" The pair bickered further, whilst Pulitzer watched curiously. He had never seen them fighting. This was definitely a sight to see, if not hope for him. Perhaps their fighting would grow uglier, he prayed, then Jack would leave for good and give his daughter a second chance at finding a proper suitor. _

_"-and the time I convinced you that the underneath of my desk was a perfect spot for you to get on your knees and-" Katherine was saying, but by the look on her father's face when he saw where she was going with her recount make Jack nervous. He elbowed her rib. "Ace, shut it."_

_Katherine blinked as if awakening from a trance. Did she really just say all of that in front of her father? "What we're trying to say is... You can't blame one person more than the other for what happened. It was a product of irresponsibility, disrespect, and carelessness and I can say on behalf of both of us, we're sorry."_

_Pulitzer crossed his vision over the both of them, still cold as marble. "Katherine Ethel Pulitzer," she winced at hearing her dreaded middle name. "Don't think that you are forgiven so easily. I know you better than you think and I can tell you now that I was actually expecting something like this to happen the minute you started chasing around the boy. Your mother said I was paranoid, but look who was right, hm?" He turned to Jack. "And you boy. You sure are not forgiven either. The next time I find you on top of my daughter, you'll find yourself with a bullet half way through your brain. Do you unders__tand?"_

_"So when you say on top, you don't mean just sitting right?" Pulitzer flushed red with rage. "I mean, yes sir."_

_He rolled his eyes. "And the both of you. Your punishment. I will take it upon myself to tell Mr. Dana at the Sun to let you off for three weeks no pay, Katherine. And Mr. Kelly, Mr. Wiesel will be notified not to give you any of my papers for the same time period." Jack and Katherine groaned. _

"So that's it?" Darcy asked whilst Jack kicked his legs up on the desk with a satisfied sigh. "He just let you go?"

"Hey, that punishment was pretty harsh. I was barely makin a dollar a week back then." He laughed softly to himself, stretching his neck. "But he really lost ya see Darc. Cause those three weeks I didn't have no money to stay at the lodge, nor eat my own food. Katherine didn't have anywhere to go either, cept stay in her apartment all day. Yeah, those three weeks were possibly the best punishment of my life."

Darcy made a face. "Please Jack, I just had breakfast. Now what do I do about Miss Leggy Peggy?"

"I'd quit stressin. Even if Dana does talk to ya, she'll do somethin womanly to get ya both out of the situation." Jack smiled and gazed down at the sketch he'd done of Katherine from that troublesome night, which he'd saved and framed to put on his desk. "Dolls are good at that kinda stuff."


	29. Trust Issues

**I've had so much going on lately I'm so sorry this wasn't posted earlier. Cheer is taking all my time seeing as I'm in comp season and school and theatre and singing is just as crazy. But here it is. Next is on its way I promise. **

**X layla**

"Sweetheart, where's my shirt?" Jack called to his wife from their bedroom. She yelled back from the side bathroom, "How should I know Jack?" whilst at the same time applying a satiny crimson lipstick to her lower lip. She rubbed the colour together with her mouth and quickly made a dash out, pinning her hair in a high up do. "Come on, just grab another one. Angie and Spot will be here any minute."

He frowned at her, shirtless. "Yeah but that was my only clean one." He sauntered over to their daughter's crib, hoisting the still very much new born baby girl from under her armpits and into his embrace. He grinned at Lizzie. "Mommy's being a bit silly, huh baby?" Katherine shot him a daring eyebrow raise.

Normally, the Kellys were on time for everything, in thanks to Katherine's own sharp punctuality. Since becoming parents however, they found they were rushing and making excuses for tardiness all the time. It was important that night, particularly, to be on time, for their attendance was required at Medda's theatre. She, in all her exquisiteness, was opening another grand show and had invited the pair to be special guests. It was Medda's gift to give them a break from parenting for a few hours, therefore Lizzie required a baby sitter for the evening. They'd asked Katherine's parents first if they could give up the night, but they explained that they were holding dinner for some of the publishing partners at the World. They went to Clara and Davey next, but we're told that they were already preoccupied with other plans. Katherine had given a smirk when Clara had said this, for she knew for well that 'other plans' in combination with Davey Jacobs meant that they were spending the night in at her apartment. When it seemed to them that they had no options left, Jack had taken off to the Brooklyn docks to go and ask their last resorts. Both Angie and Spot were two of their greatest friends, but they knew that they both didn't know a thing about babies. Jack had toyed Katherine into agreeing to the plan, saying that they would just use their common sense and do a naturally great job of looking after Lizzie. She had retorted that both Angie and Spot had no common sense, but agreed never the less.

"Here," Katherine reached into the set of drawers against the wall. "I ironed and cleaned it for you yesterday."

Jack chuckled at Lizzie as she had her hands pressed against his bare chest, tugging softly against the light spread of dark hair. "Ya mommy ain't just silly, she's kinda smart too." He handed Lizzie over to his wife in exchange for the crisp, smooth, white shirt, which he buttoned up to his collar bone.

At the sound of the doorbell ringing, Katherine looked up from mixing formula for Lizzie in the kitchen. Lizzie sat rugged up beneath her blanket in her father's arms, being gently rocked in an effort to lull her to sleep. Jack's hope of getting her asleep drifted at the sharp pinging bell, as she shot open her big green eyes widely to see what was the commotion. "Ah, son of a bitch-"

Katherine smacked his stubbly cheek gently as she brushed past him to get the door. "No swearing in front of the baby."

He would have replied with something snarky if Spot didn't stride loudly through the door with a booming, "Where's the damn bastard who just became a daddy?" His grin stretched from jaw to jaw, but Katherine wasn't the least happy as he was.

She pursed her lips and took Lizzie from Jack, cradling her into her arms. Lizzie settled her head onto her breast and looked curiously at her baby sitters. "I'm glad you're excited to become an uncle, Spot," Katherine said. "But I'm trying to get her to sleep so she won't be such a drama to look after tonight. And no potty mouths around her. I'm still trying to teach that to Jack."

Spot mouthed a sorry and both he and Angie cautiously padded over to the baby which Katherine passed him with an eventual smile. Spot raised her above his head to get a good look at her. He laughed. "She's a dead ringer for her daddy."

"No, I think she's still Kathy though." Angie smiled. "Look at those little cheeks; just as high set and rosy as her moms." She reached for her turn at holding the baby and Spot passed her over reluctantly. "She's so gorgeous, look at her!" She cooed, bumping his shoulder. "Spot, I wanna baby!"

"Oh no,no! We've been through this Ang. No kids. Ya can look after Jack and Kathy's all ya want, but I ain't riskin my rep for a little ankle biter."

Angie rolled her eyes and looked back to Jack and Katherine. "Well, I think she's lovely. Now mom, dad, off ya go and have fun. I think me, miss Lizzie and her incompetent uncle Spot can take things from here."

Katherine looked nervous, unsure perhaps. Jack placed his large hands however on her shoulders, and kneaded away whilst kissing her cheek. "Relax Ace, we's will be gone for a few hours."

Katherine nodded reluctantly and went to kiss her daughter firmly in her temple. "You be a good girl for mommy, ok Lizzie? Daddy and I will be back as fast as you can say colic."

"Bye baby cakes," Jack chuckled and took her in his arms to pepper kisses on her belly. "See ya real soon."

After Jack had eventually lead himself and the fretting Katherine out the front door, Spot and Angie took the baby into the living room. They sat on the floor beside the leather couch and lay Lizzie down on her cream blanket that had been there from earlier. Jack was very used to lying with her on the floor after he came home from work everyday. It was not only to bond with his daughter but also to give Katherine a break from parenting.

"So what do ya wanna do now, kid?" Spot said, propped up on his elbow and opposite to Angie. She replicated his posture and smiled at Lizzie. Lizzie didn't reply to Spot, but simply stuck her tongue out and gurgled something through her gums.

"Are ya hungry?" Angie tried. The baby continued to make sounds and reached her fingers out to clench her aunt's index finger, which was gently tickling her chin. "Ya mommy did leave us something for you to have. How about'cha play with ya uncle Spot while I go and fix you a milk bottle, hm?" She returned after only minutes, post warming the bottle in the oven. The glass in her hands had become like the hot pebbles at the Brooklyn docks at the height of Summer. Not boiling, but soothing to hold. She passed it to Spot to give to Lizzie, whom clutched it tightly in her little hands.

"There ya go kid. Not as good as ya mom's, but that's all we got." Spot murmured as he watched her suck at the rubber top. The minute Lizzie put it to her mouth however, the contents of the bottle flooded over her front, and the glass toppled to the floor with a ear piercing shatter. The top piece followed as Lizzie let out a cry. She was hungry, wet, covered in glass and miserable.

"Oh, sweetie!" Angie cooed and tried to brush off the crystal shards from her pastel pink onesie. "I'm sorry!"

Spot looked in disbelief at her. "What the fuck Ang?"

"Spot! Language!"

"I mean, What the frick Ang?"

She looked just as baffled and held Lizzie against her chest. "I don't know! The lid mustn't have been screwed on or somethin."

"I don't think ya head's screwed on!"

"Would you stop trying to make me feel worse!" She hissed. Lizzie was still wailing and Spot rolled his eyes at his girlfriend. He seized the baby quickly and got up to go to the upstairs bathroom. Angie frowned and followed. "Where're ya runnin off to?"

"Same thing I do to you when ya get ya self in bar fights with other girls. You're so drunk and green eyed that ya forget ya got glass and liquor all over ya. The minute ya get in the lodge, ya pass out on our bed and I gotta go help and draw ya a bath."

"I didn't know that."

Spot gave her a grin and continued his way up to the bathroom where he proceeded to turn the taps in the porcelain tub on after handing Lizzie to Angie. Once half full, he dipped an elbow to test the temperature to make sure it wasn't boiling, whilst Angie carefully pulled off her onesie and lowered her into the still, warm water. Together, they held Lizzie upright by her ribs and splashed water gently to clean her, which Lizzie gurgled at calmly.

"There ya go kid," Spot said. "All clean, huh?" He knocked her chin with his index finger playfully and she grabbed it quickly. Spot laughed. "What is it with you and fingers?"

"She's probably hungry." Angie offered with her arms folded. She went towards the door, whipping her her head back when she was just out in the hallway. "I'll go see if Kathy and Jack have any sturdier baby bottles."

Spot pulled Lizzie out of the tub, wrapping her in one of the duck egg blue towels, and set her down on the matching bath mat. "Stay there chicken." He whispered and gave her tickle on her belly before chasing after Angie.

She was halfway down the corridor. The back of her blonde head gave off an orangey glow from the warmth of the Tiffany hanging lamps above them. He had over heard Jack one day going on about how ridiculous it had been when Pulitzer had insisted on installing the entire house with the expensive stained glass lighting. He had concluded his rant by shrugging, "At least I ain't payin a cent for it."

Spot called after Angie, making her halt and spin back. "What'sa matter?" She said tiredly.

"Y'know, I was thinkin we get that little rugrat off to sleep and we have the evening to ourselves." He waggled an eyebrow suggestively.

She put her hands on her hips and smirked. "Maybe. If ya can put her to bed that is."

"Piece a cake, Angel face." Spot strode with a grin back to the bathroom, where he shifted his mouth back into a straight line. The cherry stained door had shut while he wasn't looking. It must have been from the wind, he thought. He remembered leaving the bay seated window open and the night had been rather restless. With a quick jimmy of the brass handle, he cursed. It seemed as if it were locked from the inside. "Fuck." He whispered. With a preliminary look around and another try of the handle, Spot ground his teeth together. "Angie! C'mere!"

"What'sa matter babes?" She came up from the staircase with another bottle of warm milk in her grip.

Spot shoved his shoulder against the door, but it still remained stuck. "The door ain't openin." He replied plainly.

She squinted her green eyes, the thick spread of freckles on her nose folding into the little creases of confusion. "What'dya mean it ain't openin?"

"I mean it's locked. Ain't budgin."

"Well, it can't be. The baby is still in there..." The color drained from her skin. "Oh my god, Spot! The baby!" Angie ran as fast as she could and tried her luck unsuccessfully at breaking open the door. "Lizzie!" She called, her voice high with panic. "Donch'you move a muscle. Ya uncle Spot and I are gonna getcha in no time!" She tried three more times at the door handle until she felt Spot's rough grip around her biceps. Her forehead met the wooden door surface with a heavy thud, which resounded several times as she repeated the action.

Jack and Katherine were seated side by side in a French painted balcony that Medda had reserved for them only. They over looked a pair of Bowery Beauties corseted and gartered in violet and magenta, who were in the middle of tapping away at a fast dance number. They would have understood what had been going on if Jack hadn't been peppering Katherine with kisses, or removed his wandering hands.

"Would you pay attention!" Katherine giggled through a hushed voice, secretly revelling in his touch. "Medda's gone to all this trouble and- Oh Jack!" She hissed the last part for Jack's fingers had found her inner thigh and caressed roughly over the sheer peach hued stockings. A crisp snap made it clear that he had undone them from her garter for easier access between her legs. His fingertips brushed teasingly against her matching melba satin underwear and she sighed deeply. "We're in a theatre you know."

"Ain't that give ya thrills?" His lips sucked at her collar bone. Her neck rolled back in ecstasy, lips parted to moan when he pushed aside the satin and circled her nub with his finger pads . "Jack!"

"Shhh!" He chuckled against her skin. His breath was warm and sweet from the brandy he had drank before they came in.

She turned her head back and nudged his nose with hers, grinning just as much as he was. "You are the most impossible boy."

"I feel like we've gone through this before." Their lips crushed together painfully. Jack had clenched his teeth a little too hard around Katherine's bottom lip. "Ow." She whispered. Jack pulled back and in the dim theatre light he could see a small trickle of warm blood threaten to roll down her chin.

"Shit," he cursed softly. "My bad." He used the bend of his thumb to wipe it clean, but it just left a smear of semi- dried burgundy against her milky skin. He kissed it clean and tried to continue even after he had done his job, but Katherine laid a hand on his chest. "Jack." She kissed his nose.

"Moi Chroi."

"Don't get into the Gaelic. You know how much I love that."

"What'sa matter Ace?" Jack brushed her wayward bangs out of her eyes and cupped her cheek. "Are ya still hurt? I can go ask Medda for some ice-"

"No, no. I'm perfectly fine, it'll heal in no time. I'm just worried about..."

"Our daughter?" He raised.

Katherine exhaled deeply. "What if something's gone wrong? And I know that Angie and Spot are perfectly capable of looking after Lizzie, but she's still so small. She's only three weeks old, and I feel awful for leaving her."

Jack kissed her forehead tenderly. "There ain't no reason for you to feel bad about takin a break, Katherine. You're a wonderful mother, ya need to remember that."

She gave him a smile, thanking him with another kiss before wrapping her arms around his neck and burrowing her head into his chest. "I just have this horrible feeling." She murmured.

It had passed two hours since the door had jammed closed and Spot and Angie were losing their minds.

"How did it even close behind you?" Angie yelled to Spot who was hammering at the lock with one of Katherine's kitchen ladles. The bulky chrome was only making dents in the wooden panel, so he stopped to not make further damage. "I don't know," he turned back to her on his knees and ran his fingers through his coffee stained hair. "There musta been a draft from the open window in the bathroom..." He widened his eyes. "Shit, Ang!"

"The open window?" She screeched. "That window is two stories high ya big dope! What if she falls?"

Spot paused and then shrugged in response. "She can't crawl yet can she?"

Growling, she rolled her eyes and straightened her spine. She whirled on her feet to the stairs. "Don't ask me. I'm only seventeen for God's sake. I ain't no mother." With that, Angie left to go ring the fire department to fix the situation.

The bell ringing New York Fire Brigade arrived in record time, only ten minutes after the call had been placed on the black telephone that sat in the Kelly's kitchen. A whistle was blown at the truck's halt, and several firefighters hustled their way into the Kelly home.

"Where's the fire, m'am?"A muscular blonde asked Angie urgently at the front door.

"Ain't no fire ya big hero," Angie said in reply. She didn't seem as phased by the whole ordeal as Spot was. Possibly because their levels of anxiousness had been reversed earlier and she had had plenty of time to calm down. "I got a baby locked in a bathroom instead, how bout'dat?"

"We'll have your child safe and sound in no time." A darker haired, and equally as buff firefighter spoke from behind the blonde.

Angie lead them upstairs, talking as she walked. "Ain't my child. Me and my beau are baby sittin for our friends. So try not to wreck the place, huh?" There were scattered nods and voices of confirms amongst the group before they went to work.

An hour later, they had resorted to sawing through the door, after unsuccessfully trying to pick the lock. In loud, sweeping motions, the teeth of the large blades tediously chewed through the timber. Spot looked over their shoulders, his arms folded whilst shifting his jaw. "Hey, long do ya reckon ya gonna take? We's kinda don't want our friends to see any of this happening."

The one with the saw turned around. "We're trying as fast as we can, sir." Spot rolled his eyes. He glanced out the window at the end of the hall way, noticing the peculiar way the end of the street began to grow warm with light. It wasn't just light, he realised when the engine of a vehicle became apparent, but projected headlights from a slick black taxi. He cursed under his breath. "Ang!"

"What's wrong?" She said.

"We's got trouble. Mom and dad are home."

"Shit!" She craned her neck to get a look too. The taxi had parked and Jack was swinging the door open, then helping Katherine out. "What the hell do we do?"

"They've probably already seen the fire truck parked outside Ang. I don't think there is a lot we can do."

She shrugged. "There's a lotta houses in the street. Maybe they assume it's someone else's."

"Well we shouldn't just assume too." He looked out the window again, his brow knitted. Jack and Katherine were walking up the cement pavement to the front door. "A'right. I'll distract them. You stay up here Angie and make them hurry up."

She nodded and quickly kissed him, her green eyes bright with determination. "Good luck." Spot saluted her and hurried downstairs to the hallway, where the door resounded the sound of the jingle of keys. He smoothed his hair back and straightened his suspenders, making an effort to brush the dirt off his pants too. It was as if the level of their anger was weighted on his appearance. At the distinct click of the lock being turned, Spot stood tall and plastered on a smile. When Jack and Katherine came through, in the midst of laughing over something Jack had whispered in her ear on the steps, their faces blanked as they saw Spot's.

"Spot?" Katherine asked, her brow upturned. "What's wrong?"

Spot refused to stop bearing his teeth. "Hey! You's are home! How was the show? Ya get up to anythin scandalous?"

Jack looked at him with the same confusion Katherine had. "No... Are ya sure you're right Spot?"

"Fine. Peachy. Just swell."

"Ya seem off. He seems off don't he, Ace?" Jack folded his arms at his chest and turned to his wife for conformation. She flickered her eyes once to Jack's, but held her gaze upon Spot's peculiarity. "Very off." She furrowed her brow, realising it wasn't only Spot that wasn't particularly normal. "Where's Angie and the baby?"

"Sleeping!" He answered a little too abruptly. "Uh... Ang was feelin tired, so she took the baby with her and tucked her into her crib. Both of them out like a light." His forced laughter wasn't convincing, and neither was the loud clang of metal from upstairs that followed with a masculine shout of, "Dammit!"

All three of them raised their eyes to the ceiling. Jack shot them shortly to Spot, daringly. "Angela feelin okay lately?"

"B-better than ever." He stammered. They were catching onto him, and he didn't know how much time he could give Angie upstairs. "Hey, why don'cha go have a seat in the livin room? I'll get you's some tea." Without waiting for a response, Spot ushered them forcefully into the other room and onto the couch. He then dashed out to the kitchen to brew the two slowest mugs of earl grey before he shuffled back out to set them on the coffee table.

"Thanks..." Katherine smiled weakly. "But this really isn't necessary Spot! It's late and Jack and I should be heading to bed, and we don't want to keep you and Angie up any later-"

"Ain't no trouble at all Kathy!" Spot cut her off. "Ang and I ain't got jobs any way to get to tomorrow mornin!"

Jack slurped loudly out of his mug. He set it down and rubbed his face tiredly with his palm. "But we's do. Spot you can let yourself and Angie out, Katherine, come on, let's hit the sack." He helped Katherine up and made it to the stairs sluggishly. Spot however, stood in front of them, his hands pushing Jack back. This set him off finally. Jack whipped Spot's arms around his back fast and he writhed uncomfortably. "Spot. Spit it out." Jack pressed. "What'sa matta with ya, huh?"

"N-nothin-Hey! No Chinese burns!"

"Then tell me!"

Spot couldn't just tell them, he knew that that would be disastrous. But he didn't know what else to do, so he went dead weight in Jack's grip. His body hit the floor boards and he scrambled to his legs quickly. Seeing no response from him, Katherine rolled her eyes. She elbowed Spot aside and ascended the stairs much to Spot and soon Angies' horror.

Her jaw dropped on the top step when she noticed the abundance of firemen hacking away at her bathroom door with an axe. Angie crouched small beside them, as if to hide herself. "What the hell is going on?" murmured Katherine. Angie got up and took Katherine's arm. She saw Spot behind her, whom had followed Jack to his wife and she immediately gave him a sour look. He was supposed to have distracted them. They were going to get it bad now. Especially from Katherine. "I said what the hell is going on?" She said an octave louder this time. "Why is there the whole damn New York City fire department on my second floor?" She wriggled out of Angie's arms and folded her arms. She looked pissed. Even Jack was scared for what she might do. It was as if they were standing around a time bomb about to go off.

It was Spot who took one for the team, and stepped forward. His head down and fiddling with his hands, he began solemnly. "Look, I just want ya both to know Angie and I ain't mean to do wrong, but that just happens a lot to us ever since we were kids. Sometimes are heads ain't screwed on too tight, y'know?"

"I can see that very clearly Spot Conlon. Now where the fuck is my baby?" It was moments like these when Katherine cussed severely that people knew she was spitting with rage. Despite her rather conservative upbringing, Katherine had picked up Jack's dirty mouth since she had met him. Since they were married and had moved in with one another, it had increased greatly. Spot looked as if he was quivering before her. He gulped. "She's in the bathroom...that's locked."

"Locked?" She whispered. Jack could predict what was going to unfold, so he quickly went to hold his wife so she wouldn't start throwing punches. "How did she get locked in there?"

"We weren't payin attention. There was a draft from the window. When we's came back, the door had jammed shut."

"Hey, hey," Jack noticed Katherine begin to sniffle and her still rouged lips quiver. With his thumbs, he wiped away the mascara streaked tears. "We're gonna get her out. She's gonna be fine."

"There was an open window in there Jack! What if she fell out?"

"She can't even crawl Ace, she's gonna be alright!"

"Again, we's are so sorry." Said Angie, hurt creeping up her throat.

"Shut up Angie!" Katherine spat and paced up the corridor anxiously. The other three could only watch her, in fear that she'd rip them limb from limb if they tried to intervene further. However when the firemen gave a burly shout, her eyes lit up. Like a tomb being unsealed, the door was being ripped off its hinges. She dashed over to be the first inside, and they noticed her hitching her breath. She was preparing herself for the worst. For a fraction of a second, Katherine paused under the door frame, blank faced and milky eyed. Jack quickly became her brace, thinking that the worst had happened. But she collapsed in his arms with her tears turning to those of joy. There still bundled in the towel from hours ago was little Lizzie. She had freed her arms and lay on her back, snoring dreamily to the plaster ceiling. "Lizzie!" Cried Katherine as she crumpled over to whisk her up in her arms gently, careful not to wake her. Jack knelt down and wrapped an arm around his girls. "Told ya she'd be fine," he chuckled. "She's been sleepin this entire time I betcha."

Katherine didn't reply, too busy enjoying the fact that their daughter was safe and alive. She nuzzled the baby's dark hair and smiled contently. Her own Violet scented soap crept up her nose, along with the hint of formula milk. The prodding realisation that Angie and Spot had actually done a great effort at baby sitting her daughter flooded her head. It was just a little hiccup and maybe...she overreacted. "I'm sorry." She apologised whilst handing Lizzie to Jack. She got up slowly, still run down from only a few weeks of mother hood, and turned to their friends. "You both were a great help tonight. I really appreciate you gave your night to look after her. I was just worried-"

"Honey, it's understandable." Angie smirked. "We kinda screwed up."

"Maybe you can sit for us again some other night?" She raised hopefully.

Spot dug his hand in his pocket and threw an arm around Angie's shoulder, grinning. "It'd be our pleasure."


	30. Trials and Tribulations Of Femininity

**next chapter is half way written! Won't be long before I post it too. **

**Thanks for reading, **

**layla xx**

After the strike, Jack was aware that his name had become well known around New York and even the country, thanks to Katherine's news coverage. He also understood that her byline had become frequently hyped to the same extent, but he didn't realise how far until he saw the commotion sweep through the Sun's publishing office one Tuesday morning. It had been a typical, groggy morning. He had faced the pain of moving from his wife's sleeping figure and finding his clothes around the room. He had then saved Katherine having to cook breakfast for them by using the pancake griddle. With nothing more than a bite of Katherine's fluffy pancake and a downed glass of orange juice, Jack kissed his wife goodbye, promising to be home early. He had been at work for only a half hour and ached already to be at home with his girls. This yearning was interrupted although when the front doors slammed open, pouring in a posse of finely dressed women being chased by the secretaries of the Sun.

"Miss Prince!" Called Peggy. "You need an appointment to be in this level of the building!" Even leggy Peggy the secretary could not keep up with the tall woman leading her pack. "Miss Prince! Excuse me?"

She ignored her and scanned her gaze around the room. "Where is she?"

Rita, Peggy's secretary in training, watched the woman from her colleague's side and frowned. "Hey, Peggy? She ain't allowed to just prance in here is she?"

Peggy clicked the back of her tall heels against each other and put her hands on her hips. With Katherine gone, she had become the most respected woman in the building and she wasn't going to let some snob walk in and take it from her. "No she is not, Rita."

By now, the commotion had caught the attention of the whole floor, and like Jack, they peered from behind their stacks of documents and large typewriters to get a peek at what was happening. At the printing table, Darcy had thought his small glances were undetectable, so he jumped when she jerked viciously at his amber silk tie. "Gah!" He exclaimed, being pulled inches before her powdered nose.

"Specs!" She growled. For some reason, Jack could tell she wasn't calling Darcy that for the same reasons he and the boys named their fellow newsie at the lodge house. "Have you seen a girl in this place? Other than your boss's sad excuses for my entire gender." She nodded towards whom both Peggy and Rita sniffed angrily from the western wall. "Auburn hair, prissy dress style, real sharp tongue?"

"Uhh-" Darcy was saved by Dana, who stormed out of his frosted glass office. "This is a publishing office, not the Russian circus! What is all this ruckus about?" Their boss stopped his bellowing and paused as he noticed the woman turn around. "Philippa Prince? What business brings you in my building?"

"Hello Charlie." She purred proudly. Various mutters circled the room. Dana knew who this Philippa was. "I'm in need of your help actually."

"For that women's weekly you and your team write?"

She scowled, narrowing her high arched brows. "I'll have you know that it's a periodical and we only include articles that educate women and inspire them to rise up against the oppressing male dominated society that we are forced to endure."

Dana rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say Pip." Pip? Jack thought. They were closer than he assumed.

"Anyway," Philippa continued, flipping her liquorice like swirled hair from her shoulder. "As I mentioned to Spectacles over here, I'm in search of a girl. A girl reporter."

"I'm afraid we haven't got one of those anymore. She's absent for the time being."

"God, you're useless Charlie. Does anyone here know of her? Young female reporter? Pretty, plucky young reporter? Anyone?...anyone?"

Jack was quiet when he answered, still fearful of the impression she made on Darcy. "I do miss."

"Hm?"

"I, I know who ya lookin for. Katherine Plumber? Yeah, I know her."

"You know her? I would have imagined a girl with such talent would be the last person to be speaking to you."

Jack shifted a jaw. "I'm married to her. I'm the person she mostly speaks too." He tried his best to keep the irritation from creeping up his throat. This woman was pushing it. "Why ya need Katherine any way?"

From her perfectly painted mauve lips, Philippa raised a sickly sweet grin. "Why, I'm interviewing her on what it feels like to be a victim of a male dominated work force."

"So we's are all sittin there," Jack was telling Katherine at the table that night, with a mouthful of potatoes. "And she acts all hoity toity, actin like she owns the joint, y'know?"

"Hm?" His wife smiled, nodding for him to continue whilst she sat opposite him. While she ate, she kept a slow momentum going on the wooden rocker that Lizzie lay in, gurgling happily at the sound of her parents soft chatter.

"Then Dana asks what she's doin at the office, called her Philippa or somethin I don't remember-"

"Philippa Prince? She was his fiancée for a while. Then she heard all about the suffragettes on a trip to London and left him with out a word of apology."

Jack bit his fork. "Suffragettes?"

"A group of women over there protesting for the right to vote. They make your Union look like child's play."

"Ace, nobody runs a union better than I do. Female or male, period."

Katherine chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Sure, Jack. Now what were you saying?"

"Well she was demandin to see ya." He grinned when she lit up, surprised. "Wants to interview ya for her lady periodical. But I said she could stick it up her-"

"Jack!" She squawked. He unfolded his arms and wiped the smug grin off his features, noticing that she wasn't as proud of him as he predicted she would be. "Why would you do that?"

He parted his mouth, not sure what to say. Had she evened listened to him for the past ten minutes? He had clearly explained that Philippa Prince was a nasty witch who intended on crushing every man like a bug. Heck, it wasn't even just men. He'd seen how she'd picked apart Peggy and Rita. Carefully, he inhaled a deep breath and took her hand, his rough callouses brushing against her inky knuckles. She had kept busy at her typewriter, despite being home bound. She didn't look at him when he began murmuring and toying with her wedding band and engagement ring. "Mo Chroi, I didn't realise ya wanted to."

"I've been stuck at home writing for an advice column for the last month. People are starting to forget my work. If I was just mentioned and published in Philippa's periodical it would give me enough recognition before I went back into the field."

"Oh." He said softly. Immediately, guilt started to flow in his veins. He had forgotten that Katherine wasn't the type to stay at home and play house. It must have been taxing on her for the last month, he thought. Katherine's work was her life and it was wrong to take it away from her. "Katherine-"

"Whatever, it's fine. Come on, we should clean up and put her to sleep. She gets grumpy when she doesn't get enough rest in the morning." They didn't say a word about the interview the entire night from then on, but Jack knew in his heart that he had to reverse his mistakes the next day.

On his way back from a union meeting at Medda's theatre the following afternoon, Jack had gathered Davey and Clara to go to the address that had been on the card given to him when he had declined Philippa's offer. He'd seen these kinds of cards on big official's desks, like Pulitzer and Dana. When they had arrived to the apartment block, and taken the elevator to the top floor, all three couldn't help hitching their breaths.

The building, a French second empire, was almost as ornate as the Pulitzer mansion. It overlooked Central Park and stood regal in the clutter of equally grand structures in New York City's upper east side.

"You're so terrible." Clara said to Jack for the thirteenth time.

"I didn't know, how many times do I gotta tell ya? Besides if you had met her, you'd understand why I did."

"If you say so."

Jack rolled his eyes and they kept walking to the door engraved in gold numbers, 108. Clara raised a fist to rap at the surface, but retracted it just as quickly. Her face grew red and she threw a horrified look at Davey.

"What the hell was that about?" Jack squinted.

Both of them struggled to find an answer. When Clara blurted out she had a rash, simultaneously Davey said she had lost a fingernail at work. They glanced at each other, embarrassed and resorted to a short and chorused, "nothing."

Jack didn't have time to ask any more questions. "Right, well you's should sort ya issues out when you's are at home. Stay semi-normal for the moment, this woman ain't got a tolerance like I do." He knocked his knuckles twice and soon enough Philippa Prince was greeting them from behind the door.

"You? I thought you would given the card to Miss Plumber." She sighed and rubbed her temple.

"Mrs. Kelly, you mean?" His mouth formed a hard line. "She's married to me. She's already got a busy schedule, so I'm doin the work for her."

"Right. And your posse too? I love the rock by the way, gorgeous." She purred at Clara and dragged her hand up, where a glinting diamond sparkled on her index finger. She tried pulling it back, but in Philippa's hands, she remained stuck. Davey wiped his face with his hands in defeat, groaning slightly. Jack death glared him, cocking an eyebrow higher than his ego. "You two's gotta lotta explainin to do when we get outta here."

Philippa raised the corners of her lips and shrugged, dropping Clara's hand without any concern. "Any who, why did you come? I thought you weren't interested in my story."

"Well you ain't wrong. It's not me who's interested, it's my wife. I'd appreciate it if you ignored my, ah, scene I made at the office yesterday mornin and if ya still willin, maybe you can interview Katherine?"

Philippa pursed her lips and for a moment, Jack wondered if she was going to hit him across the nose. "I'm still willing Mr. Kelly," she spoke finally. "I'll contact you about coming to your home in the next few days. In the meantime, I need to work." She couldn't be more abrupt as she shoved the three of them out the front door.

Jack had invited Clara and Davey over on their way home, which was a kind of thank you for coming with him that afternoon. As his keys turned and clicked the front door open, he held it open to let his friends in.

From the kitchen, Katherine called, "Jack, honey? Are you home?"

"Yeah, can we add two more plates to the dinner table? I got Clara and Davey."

He took off his cap and hung it on the coat stand at the front door and lead the way to the living room. Baby in arms, Katherine strode in with her usual satin lipstick smile; the one she wore whenever Jack came home in the afternoons. "Lizzie, look, Daddy's home." She cooed.

"Hey Princess," Jack grinned and outstretched his arms to take her, planting a soft kiss on her skull.

"I hope you don't mind us impeding Kitty." Clara said and linked her fingers into Davey's. Even Katherine noticed something was different about them as she flickered her eyes to the gesture. "No, not at all. I'll just put some more rolls in the oven. Jack, are you alright with her while I just go sort out dinner?"

"We's will be fine, huh baby?" Jack bounced her slightly on his hip and nodded for Clara and Davey to sit down. "So can I tell her?" He asked in a hushed whisper.

"You might as well. I'm sure Clara's all ready caught the whole world's attention just by waving her fingers around." Davey sighed.

Clara gunned him with an arched brow. "It would be easier to hide if the rock wasn't so big, mister."

"Are you complaining?"

She flexed her finger and smiled at the silver and diamond band, that held the glittering princess cut stone. "Not in the slightest." It wasn't that Jack was jealous of the ring, he didn't even like it that much, but he felt a bit funny looking at it. He understood that the money must have been thrice the value of the one he gave to Katherine, but he remembered also that Davey was working on a law student's wage not a part time political cartoonist and union leader. Besides, the ring Katherine wore had been his mother's, and he wouldn't trade some fancy big bucks ring for that.

Katherine had brought out plates in her arms not too long after she left, ditching the kitchen table for the couch. "Ham and pea soup," she announced. "I hope it's ok."

"It's more than ok, thank you." Davey smiled.

Katherine sat down and began eating with everyone else, before pointing her spoon at Clara and Davey. "So what's up with you two, hm?"

Clara raised the corners of her mouth and snuck a peak at Davey, looking for reassurance. He nodded once and continued to eat his food. "Davey and I are engaged!"

"Clara!" Katherine cried. "I knew something was going on! Jack, why aren't you surprised? Did you know before me?"

He shrugged as best he could with the baby tucked in his arm.

She shook her head. "I'm always the last to find out."

"More often than not, huh Jack?" Davey chuckled into his spoon.

Katherine raised a brow and Jack took her hand. "Gotta another surprise for ya."

"And what's that, sweetheart?"

"You's are gettin interviewed by Philippa Prince. I talked to her with these two after the union meeting and she agreed to do it."

Excitement began to bubble in Katherine's eyes and she squealed, completely out of character. The cabin fever must have really gotten to her already.

A week had passed and it had been a long one for Jack and anyone who stepped inside their small home. Katherine was determined to make sure every inch bare to the human eye was spotless to the point that surfaces became slippery to touch. Jack had found that out when he threw out his back trying to get a grip on the staircase. Everything had to be perfect for Philippa and her crew when they arrived on the current morning.

"Hey, no! Put that down!" Katherine screeched and pointed her index finger at her husband whom had raised an apple from the fruit bowl up to his open jaw.

After staring at her for a moment, confused, he closed his mouth and set the apple down. "What'sa point of havin food if you ain't gonna eat it?"

"Oh, you can take the whole bowl for the boys later if you want. I just want them untouched and looking nice for when she gets here. Which should be any minute mind you." She darted her eyes up to his usually tousled dark hair that just didn't seem tamed enough to her for this occasion. Like a little boy, Jack tried pulling herself out of her grip as she tried to neaten it. "Hold still."

"Ace! Lemme go! I'm eighteen for Christ's sake, ya ain't my mother!" He managed to jerk himself free when he found her strength drop loose at the sound of the door bell.

"That's her! God, just please behave. No sass, for me please?"

He kissed her fully on the lips and knocked her chin with his thumb. "Ya safe and sound with me." Katherine didn't seem convinced, but rushed to the door anyway. She managed to rush out of the way just in time after opening the door just a crack, as Philippa pushed her way through, her posse of note takers following her lead.

"Miss Katherine Plumber is it?" The woman turned confidently to where Katherine stood small on the front rug.

Katherine blushed and swept a stray curl behind her ear. "It's Kelly, actually. I married Jack not too long ago." She blinked as if almost coming out of a trance. "Can I take your coat for you?"

"Save yourself the worry, pet! I'm sure your husband can take it, we have so much to get started on." Jack didn't have time to retaliate, and he had promised Katherine he'd behave, so he caught the heavy burgundy bundle and hung it on the coat rack silently.

"Oh, ok. Well, I thought we could sit in the living room. I'll show you the way." When she left the room, she stole a glance at Jack whom was rolling his green eyes to the back of his head.

Katherine had already taken the time to heat up earl grey for their best tea set, a pearly opal like reflecting collection that had been a wedding gift from her mother. They sat, skirts splayed over crossed knees and china cups in finger pads, Philippa's scribes with their pens at the ready.

"So Katherine, when did you understand you had a passion for writing?" Philippa began directly.

Katherine raised her cup to her rosy lips and blew. "I was a little girl, no more than five or six I think. My father would let me write stories on his typewriter in his office. I thought it was boring at first, but I hung with it because I knew I was the only child out of my siblings to be spending so much time with him."

"He worked a lot?"

"Oh yes, we hardly ever saw him. Well, he knew I was bored by just making things up, so he ordered me around the house to report on everyone else's business and write columns out of it." She giggled to herself softly, caught remembering. "He would compile them all every year and call it, 'the Katherine Courier'."

Philippa bent her lips stiffly into a smile, but it felt cool. "And your schooling? What was that like? I'm a strong advocate in women's education."

"Oh yes! I'm all for it. If girls these days are receiving the opportunity to be educated I think it's a crime to waste it. I attended Miss Porter's in Connecticut."

"Ah, a fine institution."

She shrugged. "It had its benefits I guess. Although I'm grateful for the education I received, you have to agree that there really are no life lessons or worthwhile relationships that you carry out."

Philippa raised a brow. "Ah, yes of course. Now tell me, you were hired to work for the Sun when you were only sixteen?"

She nodded.

"From your first day, did you feel as if you were not wanted, a waste of space, a papergirl perhaps for your male co-workers?"

The questions had escalated obviously by the snort Jack let out loudly that came from the kitchen. Katherine flickered her eyes, irritated by her husband, for a moment but bit her lip in thought. It was rather forward. "Um, I wouldn't...go that far. But, I can say that there has definitely been some difficulties in earning respect in the office. But through hard work, and a few risks I'm considered as a reliable employee by my boss I think-" she would have continued further, but from upstairs in her and Jack's bed room, she heard the first cries from Lizzie, whom must have woken up from her nap.

"You rent the rooms upstairs?" Philippa frowned.

Katherine set her tea down an got up tiredly. She had expected this would happen. "No, it's just us...and our daughter." She was about to stand, but from the hallway, Jack called, "I got her!"

"Your daughter?" Philippa pressed.

"She's only a newborn." Glowed Katherine. "Takes after her father, the little dumpling."

"But...you're so young. Seventeen is hardly an age for a young woman to mother."

Again, Katherine felt her cheeks grow hot and pink at such a probing question. "She was a little unexpected. But we were married by the time I knew I was expecting and it hardly mattered. I couldn't imagine our lives without her now. Do you have children?"

"No." She said it as sharp as a razor, and it sawed across Katherine's neck like one too. Philippa Prince was starting to seem not as wonderful as she initially thought. In fact, she made her feel uncomfortable.

The small chat lasted until Jack strode in to the living room, a still crying Lizzie cradled against his chest. "Ace, sweetheart, I'm real sorry. I think she wants you."

Katherine stretched out her arms and took the blanketed bundle against her chest, sneaking a quick kiss to Jack's cheek bone. "You go and work on your submission. We're all okay here." Jack nodded reluctantly and left to head to the study. As if some sort of witchcraft, the infant began to settle into quiet and soft gurgles. Call it a mother's touch, thought Katherine. "Miss Prince, this is my daughter, Elizabeth Violette." Lizzie stared with her big green eyes, the exact copies of her father's, towards Philippa. She stuck out the tip of her tongue and began to suc on her tiny hand.

"Elizabeth."

"Well, we like to call her Lizzie." Noticing her baby began to yawn and flutter her dark lashed lids shut again, Katherine kissed her temple and grabbed a throw blanket from the back of the couch to wrap her up in. She took a firmer cradle and turned her attention back to Philippa. "Are we alright to keep going? She'll be quiet now she's asleep."

"Yes." She payed no regard to the baby and flipped back to her notes. "Now according to your files, your husband is earning almost twice your own wage. Tell me, this irritates you, doesn't it?"

Another hot question. "No. He has a position that requires more submissions than I do. It's expected that he earns double my pay. Besides, I'm currently on maternity leave, he's actually going in to the office."

"But even though he's come in from nothing, a street kid if you will, and landed a job that you must have worked for years to earn? If I were you I'd be furious."

Katherine frowned. This woman was really beginning to crawl on her skin. "Jack's origins have nothing to do with this. And even if it did, why would it make an impact on whether or not I'm mad because he earns more than me? Jack is a good man who's worked hard his whole life to help the others around him. He's a brother to those 'street kids', an incredible union leader, a dedicated father to our baby and a loving husband to myself. I love my work, but you can't for a minute assume that I'll be angry if Jack's earning a higher wage. I love him too much to do that."

"So are you defending men now?" She was expressionless, as icy as the cool draft that swept from the open window in the kitchen. Philippa didn't take any notice of Katherine pulling the blanket tighter to shield the child. "I'm not defending men. I'm defending my husband. You've been nothing but horrible to him and my daughter since the minute you walked in here."

Philippa nodded to her crew and started to rise from her seat. They followed by her lead as she began to pace towards the front door. At the arch of the living room into the front hall, she turned her waist back and sneered disappointingly. "You my dear are a sorry excuse for feminism. In fact you are a sorry excuse for the female gender entirely. You had a career that was a fine opportunity to fight your oppression, but you gave it up for a man. A man who has taken away your freedom, burdened you with a little brat, and all because you love him? Grow up. This is reality, not a fairytale. You really are Pulitzer's little princess like they all say." She shook her head and left. Katherine heard the front door slam and inhaled a shaky breath, before bursting into tears.

Jack, who was in earshot of what had been said secretly, rushed in at the heaving sobs coming from his wife. He took the spot next to her on the couch and curled his arms around her and the sleeping Lizzie. Katherine wept into his collar and he rubbed her back. "Sweetheart, hey, hey. It's ok."

"Jack," she sobbed.

"Sh... Don't cry."

She rubbed her face into his shoulder, not caring that she was soaking his shirt to the skin. "Is what she said true?" She whispered, soft as snow.

Jack exhaled a raspy laugh from the back of his throat and kissed her hair. "Oh Ace, she ain't sayin a bit of truth."

"What if I really am just a housewife now? I've given up everything." She felt him pull back from her and clutch the sides of her jaws with his fingers. He stroked away the tears that had streaked her rouge and sighed. "Listen to me Katherine." She stuck out her bottom lip and flickered him with her big brown doe eyes, making his heart shrivel just a touch. "From the moment I met you, I knew you's were so damn good at your job. You managed to spread the word so wonderfully about my boys and I, and it was plain to see that you were a woman dedicated to her career. Heck, ya turned me down when I asked you on that first day to spend the night with me because ya knew it was unprofessional to go and sleep with a boy off the street whom ya just met and who also happened to be your interviewee." Katherine giggled a little. It was such a silly thing to bring up, in fact she hardly remembered that moment at all. She was too caught up in trying not to pay any attention to him. Jack tilted his head to the left slightly and bore his shiny emeralds into her. "Then ya gave me a chance and ya became my wife, and not too long after ya blessed me with the most precious gift." Katherine smiled and looked down at their daughter, whilst Jack kept going. "What I'm tryin to say is that the same girl that I met before the strike, who was independent, beautiful, smart, is still the same girl who's sittin here cryin right now. You ain't changed a bit my love. Ya just moved and sacrificed some things because of the love you have for me and the baby." He kissed her fully and it took a moment or two for her to respond. Lingering against his warm, slightly chapped lips, she realised how much they both had changed in the last year or so. Jack still was the same boy who hawked headlines and looked after his boys like brothers, but there was a new sense of maturity that had come out of his union leadership, his job at the sun, their marriage and of course becoming a father. Katherine had embraced motherhood with a full heart and in light of Jack's reassurance, she was still the girl before that.


	31. Who's Your Daddy? (AN- I'm so sorry)

**new chapter! Btw I never stress this enough but I heart reviews**

**x layla**

"Mr. Kelly, may I remind you that it is not bring your child to work day in the office today." Dana sighed as he came past Jack's desk. In the basket that had been stuffed with her blankets, Lizzie sat idly while her father worked. She sucked on the end of her silver rattle, and occasionally hit it on the golden ribbon tied handle that curved over her head.

"Sorry sir." apologised Jack, whilst putting down his pen and pinching one of Lizzie's pinkie toes that peeked out from under the blankets, like little potatoes being unearthed in a field.

"When I hired you at Katherine's request, I didn't imply that the whole family was too." Dana said with a hint of a joke on his mouth.

"Katherine's had to go visit her father for the next few days. We don't have anyone else to look after Lizzie."

From Dana's softening expression, it implied that he was somewhat aware of Pulitzer's health issues. Despite being publishing rivalries, he didn't wish this upon him. Particularly when one of his favourite employees was his daughter. He shook his head and ducked down to the infant's eye level. "You can stay here for now miss, but I expect a great deal of work on my desk by lunchtime." He smiled at her, noticing how much she looked like Jack. They had the same green glass eyes; full of some sort of mischief. Jack chuckled, "I'll make sure she's outta ya hair sir."

"Right then, Mr. Kelly. Carry on with your work."

After Dana left, Jack looked around before raising Lizzie up to pepper kisses to her tummy. She squealed and beamed her gums and Jack pulled her back down after receiving various glances from the sea of workers on the floor. They weren't harsh or ridiculing, but rather curious as to why their was an infant at the Sun. "Kelly!" Yelled Dana from his office. Jack grimaced.

"Daddy made an oopsie, princess." He whispered into her ear. "We's gotta keep a low profile, okay?" He settled her back into her nest-like cradle and offered her the silver rattle again, which she didn't take. Her curled fists seemed much more amusing to suck on whilst watching her father sketch away on his submissions.

"Hey Jack!" Darcy grinned, passing by his desk alongside Bill. Bill nodded his head too whilst Darcy's eyes grew alight at the sight of the baby. He detoured his journey with Bill to go and tickle Lizzie's chin with his forefinger. "Lizzie, are you behaving while your mama's gone?"

"Didn't ya hear her squealing like a banshee just before Darc?" Jack laughed.

"She's so smiley." Bill said softly. Despite having any teeth, Lizzie's smile was like the sunshine that glittered across the Hudson at the height of Summer. Jack definitely believed that she acquired this from her mother.

"Ain't got a reason not to be." Jack smiled.

Darcy's brows shot up above his glasses. "Oh! Peggy said there was a phone call you missed at reception. I'd go check it out if I were you, she said it was urgent."

"Urgent?" Jack squinted, the word bitter on his tongue. No one ever called him. They had no reason too. He was simply not that important. He let out a breath and looked around. "Ah...can you take her for a minute?" Darcy nodded willingly and outstretched his arms to receive her from Jack. Jack kissed her nose. "Be good for ya uncle Darcy and uncle Bill. I'll be back in a tick, kid."

When he arrived at the front desk outside the office, Jack noticed Peggy's flaming red hair from beneath a stack of appointment books and other files. "Peggy, Darcy said someone asked for me?"

"Oh, hello Jack." She articulated with her favourite Mauve lipstick. "Yes, a Cal somebody or something I believe. I'll just dial the number again for you."

Jack nodded. "How's Darcy?"

She glared at him, raising her ruby brow. "That's for me to know and you to stay out of. Anyway, here you go." She pushed the black phone into his hand, which Jack held to his ear slowly, as if it were a time bomb, ready to explode. The shrill ringing spun through his ear, making his eardrums vibrate slightly. Thank god he didn't get these phone calls very often, he thought. He swore he had stood there waiting forever until the raspy words crackled through the line. "Hullo?"

An itch creeped up his neck. Although distorted by the telephone line, the tone sounded oddly familiar. But he couldn't place it. "This is Jack Kelly. Ya called earlier?"

"Jack...it is you."

It was as if someone was hitting him in the back of his skull as he tried to place the voice. "Ah, who's this?"

And then it snapped into place. "Jack. It's ya father."

Later that afternoon at the lodge house, where he had just held a union meeting for the week, Jack sat in the front hall with some of the boys. Lizzie had been passed around quickly, much to the boys excitement, whilst her father, Specs and Davey conversed. Jack kept an eye on Race and Romeo from the side of his vision whom had Lizzie sitting upright against them on their laps.

"Ya father?" Exclaimed Specs in response to Jack telling them what had happened at the office. "Thought he abandoned you long ago."

"He did." Jack rubbed his face tiredly.

"So what did he say?" Davey inquired, folding his arms tightly.

"Somethin' about feelin guilty. Said he was sorry for leaving me. He apparently heard about the strike and read the papes when Katherine and I got hitched. Said he'd been followin up on our work together in the Sun."

It was hard to ignore himself and Katherine in the papers. The strike had been big enough, but when their wedding photograph had made the front page of the World, a small token from Pulitzer, their names had started to buzz. It only took their regular work to keep the attention growing.

Specs took his glasses off to spit on the lenses and wipe them with his flannel. "Geez, that's rough Jacky. What are ya gonna do?"

He sighed. "Beats me. It ain't something you can easily hug out and forgive and forget."

"Have you told Katherine?" Davey asked.

"Nah, she's busy with her dad. I don't wanna impede on her pre existin problems. But I reckon we need to talk about it when she comes home. It involves her and Lizzie now that we's a family."

"Hey, Jack!" Whispered Race harshly. "The kid's knocked out like a light!" Truth be told, she had dozed off again, and just when Romeo was awaiting his turn to hold her. Jack got up and took her carefully into his arms. In her sleep, Lizzie nuzzled closer into his collar. She seemed content in the proximity of her father. Jack shot a look in the direction of the boys. "Go and sell some papes or somethin why dont'cha?"

With an obvious eye roll, they grabbed their canvas bags and did what they were told. Whether or not he still lived with them, Jack was always their brother, and one that they felt inclined to listen to.

"Anyway," Jack said as he readjusted Lizzie's feather like weight and stood. "I said I'd meet him at Jacobi's at two. I should probably be hittin the road."

"Yeah, alright. Do ya want us to look after her?" Offered Specs.

"Nah, it's fine-"

"Jack." Davey interrupted. "We'll take her. It's fine. Besides, don't you wanna test the waters out with this guy before you fully welcome him back in your life?"

Jack hadn't thought about that. He remembered his father hadn't exactly been outstanding at parenting. His domestic abuse and sour attitude toward his family made him nervous to even see him again. Perhaps it was a good idea not to put Lizzie and Katherine at risk. Not just yet. "Ok, fine." He agreed finally. "I'll come pick her up in an hour or so."

Jack had already been sitting for fifteen minutes at one of the window booths at Jacobi's. He had contemplated getting a Reuben, but sufficed with a cola bottle instead because his stomach had started to flutter with anxiety. When he saw his father's familiar stomp through the front doors, it fluctuated greatly. He had changed since he last saw him. Age had gotten the better of him; his jet hair had become peppered with grey, his eyes had sunken along with the purple-grey bags beneath his eyes. He also donned a thick beard, that Jack had never remembered him ever sporting as a boy. His clothing added to his unkept appearance. A threading white cotton shirt was held up by suspenders that clipped onto worn trousers. Even his shoes looked as if his big toe was about to burst out of the aged and tired leather. Since Jack was born, he had greatly resembled his father, and now the man just looked like Jack had aged twenty-five years.

Jack didn't need to wave a hand to signal he was there, his father recognised him from his first few steps in. When he slid into the booth alongside his son, he bore a heavy smile. "Jack."

"Pa." he said softly.

"It's been a long time, huh boy? You're lookin well."

"It's been almost seven years. People change."

"Now that ain't what I was tryna-"

Jack shrugged him off. He wasn't looking to argue. "I know whatcha mean. And thanks. I got a lot goin for me nowadays."

His father nodded. "I saw ya married that girl. She's the one who wrote that article, huh?" Jack nodded and his father cracked a wider smile. "From the pictures she looked like a beauty. Smart, pretty, a real lady huh?"

Jack loosened up a little. It made him more comfortable to be talking about other people rather than himself. He offered a small smile. "Yeah, she's an amazing woman. You should meet her pa." he paused. "Come over for dinner on Monday. She's comin back from her folks' place tomorrow mornin. Gonna relieve me from baby sittin too." As he chuckled lowly, his father raised his wiry brows. Jack had forgotten to mention Lizzie. "Oh, uh. We have a little girl together."

"I'm a grandfather, huh?"

"Elizabeth Violette Kelly. One month old as of Tuesday."

"So where is she now?"

"I, uh, got a few friends of mine lookin after her back at the lodge house."

"Oh I get it." There was a flash of hurt that lit up in his green eyes. He combed his stubby fingers through his hair and pressed his tongue against his cheek. "Ya didn't know if I had changed since back then, huh?"

Jack frowned and tried to stop the conversation going haywire, but there wasn't much left he could do. "No, pa-"

"I get it. Ya don't trust me. I wouldn't either after all that I put ya through. I just-" he struggled to find the phrase. "I just wanted to see if I could be forgiven after all these years. I regret everythin. I was a coward for runnin off. I miss ya Ma and ya sisters everyday, y'know Jack?"

Jack slumped against the booth's upholster. "Yeah, I know pa. I miss em too." He took a sip of his cola and remembered that he was in a rush to pick up Lizzie. "Tell ya what. I gotta go take Liz home in a little while, so maybe ya can come with me and meet her and the boys."

"I...I'd like that Jack."

Later that night, after Jack had dropped his father home to the small apartment he was renting, he had come home himself and went to call Katherine.

With the receiver tucked against his shoulder as he attempted to clothe a freshly bathed Lizzie, he tried to tell his wife about his father. "Ace, who the hell jumps out from no where after seven years and tries to pry their way back into ya life?"

On the other end of the line, Katherine sighed. "Jack, honey, I'm sure it's because he loves you."

"But dont'cha think it's a little odd? I mean after all these years, why now?"

"What did the boys say when you took him to the lodge house?"

Jack scratched his ear trying to remember. "They's weren't all that friendly to him. I guess it's cause they know that he's the reason I was there. But I dunno, Race said that maybe he's come back to inherit ya dad's money now that he knows I married ya."

Katherine snorted. "Oh, please. That's ridiculous. He's not a conman. You'd know the minute you saw him if he was. Maggie, stop nagging me! I'm on the phone! Wait until after dinner." There was a distant, "I don't see why you're calling Jack like you two are courting! You married him for pete's sake!" It must have been Katherine's sister, which made Jack laugh. He could tell she was rolling her eyes despite being only able to hear her voice. "Sorry," she apologised. "The telephone is in high demand at the Pulitzer residence."

"Tell Maggie she can have the phone, it's almost time for Lizzie to go to bed and I have a cartoon to finish. Lizzie, say night night to mommy." He held the receiver to the infant's mouth which she only gurgled into happily.

"Lizzie!" Katherine cried on the other end. "I love you so much. Go to bed, be a good girl for daddy. I'll be back in the morning before you wake up, I promise." Lizzie cooed again and looked to Jack, recognising Katherine's familiar melodious voice. He smiled at her and kissed her bare feet together, before taking the receiver back.

"G'night Ace. Love you."

"Goodnight Jack. I love you too. Try not to trash the place, ok?"

He chuckled. "I'll try my best. No promises."

"Just hang up you big idiot."

The next night, Katherine had the stove top going with a pan of lamb cutlets frying, whilst Lizzie was supported on her hip. Jack and his father sat at the kitchen table, transfixed in a deep game of poker.

"You's have gotten better since I taught ya how to play."

Jack laughed from behind his cards. "I was eight pa."

"When I was eight, I won a cow in a poker game. Never too young, I always say." He smirked. "Ya should get the kid shufflin by the time she talks. Then teach her to gamble when she walks."

"Absolutely not. She's still a girl, and my daughter." Katherine's eyes lit in alarm. "Besides, do you know how much we'd get slaughtered by my parents?" She laughed, realising he was kidding. "Cal, can I get you another drink?"

"Sure sweetheart." He stretched out his crystal glass and Katherine placed Lizzie in her basket on the bench, whilst she twisted open and poured a pint of brandy into it. The bauble like bottle had hardly been touched, for Katherine felt guilty drinking it and Jack refrained from heavy liquor since Lizzie was born. Cal was really the only one putting it to good use, seeing as it costed them half a week's pay. "We didn't have none of this back home. You's can count your blessins that ya ma and I raised ya here Jack."

Jack laughed. "I don't know if dirty ol New York can be considered a blessin."

"Ya sayin ya ain't grateful, boy?" It wasn't jovial. There was a stony look to his eyes as he glanced above the red laced fan of his cards.

Jack furrowed his brows. It was as if he was a boy again and used to reacting to this kind of question. "I ain't saying that pa-"

"Then shut ya mouth if ya ain't got anythin useful to offer. I didn't break my back tryin to give you and ya sisters a decent opportunity." He barked it out and Jack noticed the room drop to silence. The only noise being the sizzle of the pan and Lizzie's little mumbles. Katherine kept her eyes down to the stove and kept her lips tight. Cal wasn't finished though. "Ya think you're top shit now ya got a good life? Now you have ya own place to call home? Lemme tell ya; havin a wife to cook and clean for ya and kids to carry on ya work means nothin. Ain't no difference between me and you Jack. Like me, ya gonna wither away to dirt real soon. Ain't no man who can survive a family. Fuck, for that matter, he can't even survive this world." By now, the baby had begun whimpering and Jack himself looked like his heart had been ripped out of his chest. But his head was bowed. He was used to this. "Pa, I ain't like you." He growled under his breath.

"What did you say?"

"I said I ain't like you!" He boomed. "I made somethin outta myself. You just gave up on everyone! You gave up on Ma, Catriona, Aileen and Nora. Ya gave up on yourself!"

"Don't you bring them into this." He snarled and got up, smacking the table out of the way to grab his shirt collar, before colliding his fist with a resounding crack against his jaw. Jack cried out as he went again in the same spot, raising the hairs on Katherine's neck whilst she tried to get between them to break it up.

"Stop it!" She screeched, struggling to push him off Jack. "I said stop it!" Cal easily caught her wrist in front of his face and twisted it behind her back, pressing a blood curdling scream to ring as she hit the floor. She sobbed into herself, an alto against Lizzie's soprano cries.

"Ya shouldn't let ya woman get outta hand, boy. I knew the slut had a sharp tongue on her the minute I saw her pictures."

"Don't you dare touch her!" Jack yelled and began hitting back until his father was pushed on the floor. Katherine had managed to crawl away to rest against the bench on the floor as she watched Jack knock the wind out of him. He raised his hands in defence and she noticed his mouth glisten dark with blood. Jack stood. "Why are you here?" He gritted through his teeth.

"I thought I knew." He whispered, shaking his head. "I thought I knew."

Jack pulled him up and pushed him roughly to the front door. "Get out of my house and stay the hell away from my family you bastard!" Out the driveway and down the street, Cal stumbled on his legs back to his apartment.

"Look at me." Katherine squinted. She wiped the alcohol soaked cloth over the nasty cut that formed under his right eye. His jaw appeared crooked and bruising clouded in ugly purple-red patches from where he was struck. Jack hissed at the sting. They sat later that night on the edge of their bed, Lizzie asleep after being finally calmed down, tending to his injuries. Katherine was keeping a cool head, but Jack was still seething with rage and humiliation.

"I'm sorry Ace." He said for what had to be the eighteenth time.

"It's not your fault."

"It is. I brought him into our home, I knew that he had the capability to do that."

"No. You had no idea. None of this is your fault." She sighed and placed her fingers on his jaw. "Stay still."

"What- oh fuck, Ace!" He cried as she jolted it back into place.

"Dislocated jaw. Sorry, it would have remained crooked. Let me plaster that cut, ok?"

He nodded reluctantly, but let her gently stick down a strip of pasty white gauze. "There. All better." She smiled slightly. "Now come on, we should get to bed."

As she climbed on all fours to get to the other end, Jack couldn't ignore how her peachy silk nightgown hitched up over her hip on one side. The same bruising clustered over her side, where she had hit the floor. He had noticed the imprint of a hand in purple-red on her wrist when she was tending to his face, but this looked much more severe. He couldn't get his head around the fact that it was his own father who was responsible for it. All he wanted to do was hold her, so he followed her lead and slid under the covers.

"Jack?" Katherine piped up after the lights were flicked off and she was cradled against his chest.

"Hm?"

"You're nothing like him, you know that right?" She kissed his throat tenderly and smoothed her hand in circles over the surface of his radiating skin.

He entwined his fingers into her curls and exhaled in the process of hoisting her up, so that her legs straddled his hips. "Yeah, I know. I just can't believe I gave him a second chance after everything I grew up seeing him do. People don't change Ace, they only say they do to try and get back into your heart and rip out all of the walls you built there to heal your self."

"You must have been born wonderful." She smiled dreamily, before lowering herself to close the gap between them with her lips. The dark had never been so comforting in all of Jack's life.

The following morning, Katherine had come in later to the Sun to drop off her article that was due. With Lizzie in her arms, she spotted Jack at his desk and strolled over with a warm exterior. She was curious to see why Jack wasn't the same as how they had both woken up that morning together like they always did after a night spent tumbling in the sheets; relaxed, happy, content.

"You forgot to take the sandwich I made you this morning." She pointed out. He didn't look up, and for that matter neither did he acknowledge her. "Hey chuckles," she said louder, coming up to his desk. "What's wrong?"

She noticed his knuckles flood white around his brush. He looked up at her with two of the most foreboding emerald eyes and gritted his teeth. "Katherine, I come to work this mornin and people start askin me how I'm feelin. If I'm ok. Do I know."

"Know what?" She shifted nervously. Something was very wrong.

"At seven am this mornin, my father's neighbour in his apartment block knocks on his door to borrow a bag of salt. No one answers so he walks himself in." Jack squeezed his eyes shut. "They found him strung up by his belt on the doorway to the bedroom."

The color drained from Katherine's face. "Oh, Jack." She felt her throat lodge with tears and she rushed over to take her husband in her embrace. "Jack, I'm so sorry."

He didn't cry. Maybe he did, but he hid it well enough into the frills of Katherine's lavender blouse. Lizzie, stuck in the middle of her parents, remained quiet. She was transfixed by the state of not only her mother, but her father too. After all, Jack had been like this in her first few days of life; waiting for Katherine to wake.

"It's my fault, it's all my fault-"

"Stop saying its your fault!" She whispered harshly, and ushered them into a more private conference room on the west wing of the floor. Once shutting the door and sitting Jack down in one of the big leather chairs, she rubbed her eyes and looked to the ceiling. "Nothing you could have done would have stopped him doing this. Things like this don't happen out of the blue Jack. They brew over a long period of time until something just triggers it-"

"And that trigger being me."

"No! Absolutely not!"

"Katherine," he grumbled miserably. "He left a note in his coat pocket."

"A suicide note?" She blinked.

Jack nodded. "To myself. Said he was sorry for being a tyrant my whole life. He also said he was proud of me, for what I've achieved. But he reasoned his death with sayin, he couldn't take livin in a world that had made him the kinda man he ended up becomin. It scared him."

Katherine didn't reply. She looked at him with her chocolate doe eyes that fogged with sympathy. When she finally looked away, she gazed down and pressed a kiss to her baby's skull. "If you're afraid that he is who you'll grow into as you become older, don't be. I know you Jack and I know for a fact that you would never act like that towards myself or our daughter."

Jack nodded, sniffed away any last tears in his throat, and took a shaky breath. He kissed Lizzie and replicated another when he entwined his fingers in Katherine's hair and pressed his lips to her hair line. "What kind of wreck would I be without my girls?"


End file.
